Heisei Sentai: A Card, Memory, Medal, Switch, and Ring
by Kamen Rider Hayabusa
Summary: DaiShocker is back to destroy the world this time, but our heroes band together for their final stand. It's not immediate, but Mature rating will become apparent in time.
1. Merge to Prevent the End Days!

This was supposed to be a normal day for the new college underclassman. Kengo Utahoshi, now 19, was on his way to his new school with his friends, Gentaro and Tomoko. He felt proud to have made it this far, especially since he made his behind closed doors with his monogamous girlfriend, Miu Kazashiro, the Amanogawa High School Queen just turning 21. As they walked across the campus, he thought back on the promise;

_The Rabbit Hutch was empty, save for Kengo and Miu. She watched as he put the final modifications on the Core Switch he had been testing. He equipped the belt and had Miu record the results. He turned on the switches and waited for the countdown. 3… 2… 1… As the final number was recited, he sounded off with the Kamen Rider calling card, "Henshin." He pulled the lever, and donned the space-themed suit of Kamen Rider Fourze. He nodded at his girlfriend as she nodded back. He removed the Rocket Switch and replaced it with his test product. There was a weird air about inserting the switch, but he went through with it anyway. The belt responded to the switch's activation, "SHADE! Shade on!" The Driver, however, malfunctioned and a minor explosion occurred around his waist. Miu ran in on an impulse to help her boyfriend. He sat up against the wall with sadness painted on his face. Miu smiled and kissed him on his forehead. "Don't beat yourself up over it, hun. Your father's product didn't have any blueprints for modification." Kengo smirked and looked at her, "That doesn't mean I'm giving up." She couldn't help but grin from how determined her boyfriend was to reach his goal. They exchanged a few kisses before Kengo realized that Miu had taken the switch from the belt around his waist. He reached for it, but she hopped back in a joking manor as she responded, "OOPS!" She placed the switch in the testing case and said, "That's enough for today. I'd rather have one less switch than no boyfriend." He slowly got back to his feet and wrapped his arms around her as he spoke, "I love you, Miu." Her face glowed a bright red as she melted to his sudden action. She leaned her head against his and said, "Promise me we'll stay together forever." Kengo took a second and replied, "As long as I have something to do with it, we'll last forever."  
_

Kengo was snapped back to reality with a hard slap on the back. "WHAT'S UP, KENGO-KUN?!" He quickly spun around to see his childhood friend, Yuki Jojima. She was wearing her usual cute grin. Gentaro looked at her and yelled, "Yuki! I haven't seen you all summer!" Ryuusei, who had trailed with Yuki, replied, "We haven't seen each other at all this entire summer." Tomoko looked at Ryuusei with a smile, "Ryuusei-kun!" In that instance, JK piped up, "I'M HERE TOO!" Gentaro spoke, "JK! What's going on?!" Everyone was enjoying the festivities, but Kengo scouted the area for Miu. Yuki noticed he wasn't paying attention to the group as he looked around and said, "Kengo-kun, what's wrong?" He replied, "I'm just trying to spot Miu. She said she'd meet up with us on the campus grounds." Just then, a familiar voice spoke, "Well, she's certainly not in that direction." Everyone turned around to see Shun and Miu just arriving to the party. Miu walked up to Kengo and planted one on him. "Thanks for waiting for me." Everyone's jaws dropped at the kiss. Ryuusei spoke first, "What did I just witness?" JK sounded off next, "How long has THIS been going on?" The couple looked at the group and Kengo spoke, "Well, it's out of the bag now." Miu followed up, "We've been secretly dating since shortly after Shun and I graduated." Gentaro spoke, "Wow. I did NOT see that coming." Shun thought out loud, "So THAT'S why you've been turning me down all the time. Your eyes were on Kengo!" Yuki was next, "Ohhhhhh, I'm happy for you guys! You're a cute couple. Like Ryuusei and Tomoko." A pink aura became apparent around Tomoko as she heard her name and Ryuusei's in the form of a couple. Kengo said, "We made a pact to keep our involvement under wraps until I entered college. I'm glad this burden is finally off of my chest." Miu nodded in agreement. Shun spoke up, "Why Kengo out of all of us? I was sort of expecting it to be Gentaro", who immediately said, "M-ME?!" Miu stopped the antics, "We're all weird in our own way. Kengo just had the weird that interested me the most." She smiled at him and he sheepishly looked away. JK stepped over to Kengo and grinned, "So what have you two been doing for the past two years? Don't be afraid to give us all of your juicy secrets!" Gentaro yelled, "SECRETS ARE ALSO PART OF OUR YOUTH! SECRETS KITAAAAA!" Yuki joined him in his Kita pose. Ryuusei shook his head in disappointment at his club members' action.

Meanwhile, in the international cuisine restaurant Cous Coussier, Chiyoko Shiraishi and Hina Izumi, with assistance from Shingo Izumi, Shintaro Goto and Date Akira, were readying the restaurant for their town savior's return. He had a long journey, but his efforts to restore the Taka medal were fruitless. He had not given up on his goal, but merely taken a break. Eiji Hino gripped the broken medal tightly as he looked up at the restaurant. "We're back, Ankh." As he went to knock on the door, he heard a car pull up. Out of the car stepped the slender legs of none other than Erika Satonaka, and with a box in hand. Eiji smirked and said, "Kougami never misses a beat, does he?" She simply smiled and handed the box to Eiji. They stood there for a second before she motioned him to the door. He opened it slowly to try and surprise everyone, but Erika shoved the door the rest of the way and said, "Look who I found."

Everyone turned to the dumbfounded Eiji as he stood in the doorway like a deer in headlights. Hina's face immediately brightened as she placed eyes on him. "EIJI-KUN!" She dropped what she was doing to hug her friend. Date and Goto walked over to greet him while Chiyoko and Shingo said their salutations from their work areas. Eiji spoke, "It feels like it's been a long time, guys. How's everything?" Goto grabbed the box from Eiji and sat it on the table as he explained how nothing new had happened over the few months that Eiji had been gone. They hadn't been a group since the future Kamen Rider's appearance. Eiji thought back to Kamen Rider Poseidon and how they teamed up to defeat SOLU. However, their final attempts were to no avail as Kannagi obtained Poseidon's medals and made off with them. Kannagi's final gambit was thwarted when OOO and Fourze teamed up, though, saving the day once again.

Eiji was brought back to reality when Hina slapped him on the back. He spun a full 360, as Hina often forgets about her inhuman strength. She quickly grabbed Eiji and sat him down in front of the box as Goto unraveled the ribbon. Hina sat next to Eiji and Shingo sat next to her. Everyone else, including Erika, sat at the booth with Eiji, Hina, and Shingo. Date looked at Erika and spoke, "Sweets? Out of your own free will? How rare." Goto responded, "I told her that she can have five percent of my next two payments if she sat with us." Date followed up, "YOU got her to eat cake with us? Goto-chan, nice!" Chiyoko said, "It doesn't matter, everyone's here to enjoy these festivities!" Eiji took the broken medal out of his pocket and sat it on the table in front of him. "NOW everyone's here." Hina's eyes watered as she smiled at Eiji. Shingo smiled with her, and everyone else followed in a domino effect. Hina spoke, "Welcome home, Eiji-kun and Ankh."

Outside a mobile shop called Donut Shop Hungry, a young, sleekly-dressed man leaned against the countertop as the donut shop manager told him about a new donut he produced. "This one is called 'Spider Eyes' in commemoration of the upcoming Halloween. It's a chocolate donut with glazed blueberries for eyes and candy corn for fangs!" The assistant manager chimed in, "Pretty cute, eh?" The man gave them a straightforward response, "Plain sugar." The two workers stumbled at the response they heard coming a mile away. The manager pouted as he put four plain sugar donuts in a bag and handed them to the man, "One of these days, I'm not gonna have plain sugar and you're gonna have to get a different flavor." The man smiled and said, "That'll be the day I don't eat a donut." The assistant manager spoke up, "That's dedication." The manager squealed, "I love a man with convictions!"

Haruto Soma, an enigma to the world personality-wise, but to everyone in Toriizaka area, he's the magically-armed guardian, Kamen Rider Wizard. He sat at a table with his partner, Koyomi, and ring appraiser, Shigeru Wajima and began to take a bite out of the first donut when he was interrupted with a beaming smile. He looked up to find Rinko Daimon, the rookie detective of the Toriizaka Police Department. He greeted her with a smile back, "Hey." Shigeru spoke, "Good day, Daimon-chan!" Koyomi simply nodded. As Haruto went to bite the donut, she immediately spoke up, "GUESS WHAT?" The three jumped a little from the sudden startle and Haruto nervously responded, "W-what?" She placed a leather wallet on the table and said, "Take a look." He took a brief second to look at the wallet, then placed his donut back in the bag and opened the wallet. After close examination, he spoke, "It looks like an ID. I saw this when we first met." She playfully pouted and said, "No, silly, I got promoted! The chief promoted me personally!" Shigeru smiled and spoke, "My word! You're a fast-tracker, aren't you? Congratulations!" Koyomi looked off to some trees and gave no reply as if she hadn't heard Rinko. Haruto grinned, "That's great! It's good to see that things are going well for you. He reached into the bag, but Rinko quickly snatched it and took a donut from it. She sat down to enjoy the donut as Haruto scowled for a quick second and grabbed the bag. He pulled out his original donut and began to bite into it when he was interrupted yet again, this time by a grinning boy. He looked up and said, "Oh, Shunpei. What's up?" He spoke up, "I, Shunpei Nara, have discovered the trick to casting spells!"

The group stared at him and decided to indulge in his antics. Haruto put the donut back in the bag and said, "Okay, let's see." Shigeru took this opportunity to snag a donut. Haruto scowled at Shigeru, but he allowed it. Shunpei closed his eyes and chanted his spellcasting phrase, "Chinchin Pui Pui!" As he spoke the words and threw his finger up in the air, bubbles flew from his fingertip. Rinko marveled while Shigeru and Koyomi dropped their jaws with the action. Haruto, however, was not easily fooled. He stood up and pulled Shunpei's sleeve up, revealing a small bubble machine attached to his arm. Haruto smiled and shook his head as he sat back down. Before he could grab his donuts, Shunpei picked one out of the bag and sat down with them. Haruto, of course, scowled again. Shunpei whined, "I don't get it. How did you see through that so easily?" Haruto replied, "Here's that cheesy one-liner you always hear, 'A magician never reveals his tricks.'" He took the final donut and began to bite it. For some odd reason, he stopped and placed the donut back in the bag. He sighed and cast a spell to put the donut in a safe spot for him to enjoy later.

Kengo, out of nowhere, decided to walk away from the club members. Miu looked at him and said, "Baby, where are you going?" Kengo shrugged and kept walking. Ryuusei spoke up, "Dude, we have orientation in less than a half-hour. What's up with you?" As Miu called out to Kengo, he took the incentive to run in his set path. Gentaro said, "We gotta follow him!" and the group took off after him. Eiji put the broken medal back in his pocket and spoke, "Can you excuse me for a second? I got this odd urge to do something." As half of the group moved out of the booth to let him out, Date spoke, "If you have to use the bathroom, you don't have to say it in an embarrassed manner like that." Hina smiled and chimed in, "Yeah, Eiji-kun." He took this cue to open the door and charge out. Goto yelled, "Let's go, guys!" Everyone got up and chased after him. Haruto stood up and started walking away from the group. Shunpei made a joke, "Are you gonna show me a spell?!" Haruto spoke, "Pfft, no. I gotta go this way." Rinko tilted her head to the side while Koyomi caught a shiver and yelled, "Haruto!" He took this as a note to begin running. Everyone got up and chased after him. Shigeru stood up and said, "You guys know I'm old, so I won't move as fast as you!"

Kengo stopped in the middle of a grassy field and held the Fourze Driver in his hand. Haruto showed up a short moment after and walked up to Kengo. "Hey. You're Fourze's friend, correct?" Kengo nodded and said, "However, I took over the role of Fourze. I was unable to previously because of my chronic headaches, but that's over so I can transform now." Haruto nodded as the Kamen Rider Club showed up. Gentaro waved to Haruto and yelled, "Wizard! What's up, bud?!" Haruto spoke, "Hey, Gentaro." Rinko, Koyomi, and Shunpei showed up briefly after the club. Koyomi spoke, "Are these friends of yours, Haruto?" He nodded and said, "This is the Kamen Rider Club." Shunpei spoke, "You have a fanclub? That's so cool! I wanna be in it! Do we learn spells?!" Haruto scratched his head and said, "You're still on that?" JK spoke, "So you were coming here to meet with Wizard-kun?" Kengo shook his head and said, "This was all just chance." In that instance, Eiji ran up to them with his group behind him. He stopped and said, "Oh. Fourze, hi." Gentaro spoke up, "Hey, Eiji! Wizard's here also!" Eiji looked at Haruto and said, "Hey!" Haruto smiled and nodded. Hina caught wind back and said, "Eiji-kun, why'd you run all the way out here?" He shrugged and responded, "I don't even know myself." Kengo spoke, "So it wasn't just me." Haruto replied, "It's like something called us out here."

As Shigeru caught up, the ground began to shake. The sky blackened with abnormally dark clouds. A giant orb began to form around the twenty people as lightning struck all around. Twisters began to touch down all around and the lightning caused fires on the ground as the orb lifted them all up into the air. Suddenly, a huge voice boomed into their ears, _**"FOR THIS ONE SITUATION, I'LL RESTORE WHAT IS A CURRENT GOAL." **_With that, the broken medal floated from out of Eiji's pocket as it reformed and revived the feathered Greeed, Ankh, in his own separate body. Eiji's eyes widened at the sight of his partner. A switch phased through the orb and stopped in front of Kengo as he marveled at the device. Miu looked at him and spoke, "Is it…?" Haruto looked at Koyomi as she glowed a warm aura. When the light faded, she spoke, "I can feel it. My heart is beating." Haruto was stunned. He touched her face and felt warmth in her skin. The voice bellowed again, _**"LOOK AT THE LAND BEFORE YOU. WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS THE END EARTH IS CRUMBLING UNDER YOUR FEET." **_Eiji yelled, "LET US OUT! WE HAVE TO STOP IT!" Gentaro spoke, "OUR WORLD!" Rinko chimed in, "THE PEOPLE!" She pointed at the people as they ran and screamed to no avail as they were struck by lightning, crushed with debris, burned by a nearby explosion, impaled by poles and branches, you name it. Disasters were happening around them and they were powerless to it. Even Ankh was surprised. Goto spotted Kosei Kougami in the distance baking a cake. He could hear him barely utter the words, "HAPP-" before the building collapsed in on him. Goto screamed, "KOUGAMI-SAAAAN!" He dropped to his knees and Erika knelt next to him. Tears rolled down Gentaro's face as he watched the horrid sight. Tomoko closed her eyes tight as she shed tears as well. Ryuusei hugged her so she could not open her eyes and see the terror. Shunpei silently said, "I can't protect anyone like this…" Rinko looked at him with despair. The voice thundered again, _**"THIS IS THE RESULTS OF THE WORLD FALLING PREY TO THE COMBINED FORCES OF DOPANT, GREEED, ZODIARTS, AND PHANTOMS. THEY ARE BEING LED BY NONE OTHER THAN DAISHOCKER." **_Broken Cell Medals flew out of the sky and hit people, creating Junk Yummy. Numerous switches fell as well as they activated on impact with other people, creating Zodiarts. More people were so distraught with the terror that despair filled their hearts, creating Phantoms. The Familiars began wreaking more havoc across the planet. Eiji and Ankh watched with terror, Kengo and Gentaro's blood boiled with anger, Haruto's skin began to crack. Koyomi noticed and quickly aided him. She forced him to stare at her in attempts to save his sanity. She kept stating, "Haruto, look at me! Feel my body heat! I'm alive again. This is a good thing!" The voice sounded off once more, _**"YOU ARE OUR FINAL BEACON OF HOPE. OUR LAST GAMBIT OF HUMANITY. WITHOUT YOU, THIS IS WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE PLANET. GO FOURTH AND VANQUISH YOUR ADVERSARY, AND DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS WAVER."**_

The orb floated back down to the ground and disappeared. As it dissipated, the world returned to its state before the terror. Kengo dropped to his knees as Miu comforted him. Eiji looked at Ankh and spoke, "You're still here…" Ankh looked off to the distance and scoffed. Koyomi touched her face and noted that she was still alive. She looked up at Haruto, who had a stern look on his face. JK lightened the mood, "Well, at least we know why we're here." Kengo looked at Miu and said, "You guys should go back." Eiji followed, "He's right, Hina-chan. This thing called us." Haruto inhaled and regained his composure, "I'm gonna agree with them. Go back to the antique shop, Koyomi." Miu closed her eyes, then reopened them with a fire in them and said, "No." Kengo looked at her surprised. Hina spoke up, "Eiji, you need to learn to lean on us for support. We can hold the world up together." Eiji looked at her with understanding. Koyomi smiled, "Besides, Haruto, you almost lost yourself there. What would you do without us?" Shun finally spoke, "The rest of us may be backup, but that doesn't mean we're gonna leave this to just you three." Just then, another voice came in. "Of course you can't do it alone. You need me." They looked over at the group of four people walking over.

Tsukasa Kadoya, Natsumi Hikari, Kaido Daiki, and Yuusuke Onodera. Gentaro spoke, "Decade-san!" Another smoother voice followed from the opposite direction, "In situations like these, you need a hard-boiled voice of reason." They all turned to witness the approaching detective agency. Shotaro Hidari, Phillip, Akiko Narumi, and Terui Ryu. Ryuusei spoke, "W!" Miu piped up, "OOPS! You guys saw it as well?" Shotaro removed his hat to dust it off, "Some weird orb picked us up and hell on Earth happened." Natsumi spoke, "It was like watching the Rider Wars all over again…" Daiki followed up, "Since we all saw it, there's no need to explain anything." Tsukasa nodded, "We gotta stop this from happening." Akiko spoke, "For once, I was told about the situation." Yuki spoke next, "We all know what we need to do, but how do we do it?" Haruto immediately said, "We form a sentai." Shun looked at him with a twisted face, "Whaaaaat?" Kengo nodded, "I agree." Tsukasa spoke again, "Fine, but I'm the red one." Shotaro followed, "You are whatever color your suit is." Gentaro snickered and said, "You're the pink one." Most of the group joined in with Gentaro's laughter as Tsukasa continued, "This time, the pink one is the leader." Eiji spoke, "So it's decided. We're Heisei Sentai Kamen Rider." Yuki squealed at how cool they had become in this instance and yelled, "SENTAI KITAAAAA!" Gentaro joined in, followed by JK and Shun. Kengo simply shrugged and said, "I guess that's that, then."


	2. Dai-Shocker Makes a Move!

Deep in the bowels of Dai-Shocker's base, the Great Leader of Dai-Shocker was concocting the plan that the mysterious voice had warned the Riders of. At his side were the revived Jun Kazu and none other than Kosei Kougami. They had, with the help of Kougami Foundation, recreated the 18 main O-Medals and in the process revived the Greeed. A green drape dropped from the ceiling as Uva stood up and tightly gripped his fist. A blue drape fell as Mezool stood up and slowly folded her arms. A grey drape floated down as Gamel stood up and scratched his head. A yellow drape declined as Kazari stood up and smirked with malice. A purple drape plummeted as Dr. Maki stood up and placed a doll on his arm. Finally, a red drape descended as Lost Ankh stood up with no emotions in his face. Kazu spoke, "Well that's phase one taken care of." Kougami grinned and yelled, "SUBARASHI! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GREEED!" Great Leader followed up, "That it is. Now we-" Kazari immediately interrupted, "Now we do whatever we want." Mezool looked at him and spoke, "You really think it's that easy?" Kazari groaned and replied, "Why do you always rain on my parade? Go sit in a corner like your pet over there." He motioned to Gamel who had squatted in a corner with Dr. Maki's doll in hand. Dr. Maki did a triple take at what he had not noticed, Gamel with his doll. He freaked out and quickly snatched the doll from Gamel. Uva snickered at the sight of Dr. Maki wigging out. Mezool looked at Kazari with anger. As he looked back at her, she quickly looked away. Dr. Maki placed his doll back on his arm and spoke, "This is our second chance at redemption. We can't screw this up again." Great Leader replied, "This is true. You were revived for the revolution of this great organization. As you were easily revived, you can just as easily be erased. It would be wise of you to not cross me." Kazari folded his arms and looked off to the side, "Pfft, whatever." Kazu approached Kazari and spoke, "Don't act out of line. You're here because of our work." Kazari gave Kazu a smug look and replied, "Don't act out of line. You're here because of their work. I know you died long before us." Kazu dropped the medal he was holding. As it hit the ground, he struck Kazari in the stomach with a tiger palm. Kazari toppled backwards and slid into a wall. Mezool and Uva quickly moved to aid him. Kazu stood up tall and straightened his coat back out, "That cockiness will definitely be his demise, Great Leader." Great Leader simply grinned and spoke, "Whatever the case, phase one is done. Onto phase two, Zodiarts Restoration!" Kazari looked at Kazu with an evil glare.

Akiko, Phillip, Chiyoko, Shingo, Satonaka, Rinko, Shunpei and Shigeru had decided to head to Cous Coussier knowing that their assistance wasn't necessary at the immediate point in time. Goto walked up to Erika, "Hey, keep your phone on." She eased her fingers into her biker gloves and replied, "I'm gonna be off the clock. I expect payment for extra services." Goto muttered under his breath, "I got something you can service…" She sat on her bike and responded, "If you're referring to your genitals when you say that, my services don't work that way." Shotaro's attention immediately snapped to the quarrel between Goto and Erika. Chiyoko stepped in, "Satonaka-chan! That's no way for a young lady to speak!" Shotaro blurted out, "I don't mind it." Akiko quickly struck him over the head with her slipper. He recovered and spun around, "AKIKO! CUT IT OUT WITH THAT DAMN SLIPPER!" She yelled back, "Have some decency! With that kind of mentality, you're always gonna be quarter-boiled!" He snapped back, "HALF-BOILED!" He realized what he said and corrected himself, "I-I mean I'm HARD-BOILED!" Rinko looked Shotaro up and down and joked, "That's not all that's hard-boiled." Shotaro yelled and walked behind a tree to fix himself. While everyone else laughed, Goto looked back at Erika and said, "Another 5% if you remain on standby." Erika replied, "A fine proposal. I'll keep my phone on." She put her helmet on and revved up her machine. Chiyoko and the aforementioned people got into a taxi van she had called and they all waved everyone off. As the taxi pulled off, so did Erika.

Goto watched as her hair billowed in the wind. Date walked up and placed his hand on his shoulder, "So tell me, Goto-chan." Goto looked at him and said, "Tell you what?" Date asked, "How much of your pay is going to her?" Goto quickly replied, "I'm not concerned with how much money I earn. I'm just protecting what's dear to me." Date sighed and responded, "That's a lot of money." As he walked off, Goto looked at him with a surprised expression. Kengo spoke up, "So we've downsized. Unfortunately, we still can't all fit in the Rabbit Hutch." Ankh hesitated and Eiji took quick notice. "Ankh? What's up?" Ankh shook his head and said, "Nothing." He knew full well that he could feel the fallen Greeed's presence again. Tsukasa spoke up, "Since we can't all fit in your moon base, I say we call our friend Momotaros." Shotaro quickly revoked, "NO! I'M TIRED OF THAT GUY HAVING SOME KIND OF MAJOR ROLE!" Haruto responded, "You know another place we can all fit in and plan things?" Miu spoke up, "I know a place."

They all sat in the living room of Miu's mansion. Shotaro sighed, "This is way better than that damn train." He moved closer to Miu, "Especially since you were so kind as to let me in." Miu stepped back and replied, "This is for the sake of the world, Shotaro. Besides, I'm already taken." She wrapped her arms around Kengo's right arm and placed her head on his shoulder as she smiled. Shotaro was floored, "Oh. Fourze's friend." Kengo shook his head and said, "I don't even feel like explaining it." Miu chuckled at her boyfriend's words. Haruto spoke up, "I'll tell him." Shotaro and everyone else that didn't know turned to Haruto. "Kengo couldn't use the driver because of his chronic headaches. However, the Core Switch within him materialized itself. The switch was what gave him the headaches, so he's fine now." Yuki chimed in. "He isn't even human! He's from space!" She pointed upwards. Everyone looked up and nodded. After the realization, they all looked back down immediately and simultaneously said, "YOU'RE AN ALIEN?!" Shotaro stepped between them, "The boy is an alien. Humans can't date aliens." Gentaro stood up and yelled, "THE HELL, MAN?!" Eiji spoke up, "There's no restrictions when it comes to love." Hina looked at Eiji and smiled, "That's right." Yuusuke leaned against a wall and finally changed the subject, "So there are five Riders. Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, and Wizard." Goto chimed in, "There's also the rest of us. Kuuga, Diend and Kivala, Accel, Birth and Birth Prototype, and Meteor." JK followed, "That makes twelve." Shun added, "Not to mention we also have Powerdizer." JK replied, "Okay, thirteen." Kengo thought to himself and spoke, "I can make it fourteen." Everyone looked at him with curiosity. He looked at Gentaro and said, "Gentaro, come with me. We're pulling an all-nighter." Gentaro stood up and said, "Hell yeah! We're gonna do this!" Kengo finished his statement, "We'll be back around noon tomorrow." Miu kissed Kengo on the cheek and unraveled her arms from his, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow Ken-kun." He nodded and walked out of Miu's house with Gentaro.

Meanwhile, back at Dai-Shocker, Dr. Maki was hard at work typing on a laptop with his doll hanging off of the monitor. Gamel and Lost Ankh were playing with a ball while Uva rummaged through a nearby cabinet for no particular reason. Mezool was busy filing her nails and Kazari leaned against a window pane as he looked out at the ground. Gamel accidentally threw the ball too hard and it bounced over to Kazari. It slowed down to a roll and tapped his foot. Immediately, he slashed at the ball and popped it. Lost Ankh, Mezool and Uva put their attention on Kazari. Dr. Maki was absorbed in his work. Lost Ankh said, "That was an unnecessary move." Kazari's eyes shot over to the boy as he walked out of the room. Uva scoffed and said, "All of that naivety is gonna get him killed, eh Gamel?" Gamel sheepishly nodded and ate a snack that Lost Ankh handed him. Mezool stood up and followed after Kazari. Kazu walked into Kazari as he came up a hall and spoke, "The cretin. Do the world a favor and un-revive yourself." Kazari attempted to shove Kazu out of the way, but Kazu quickly reacted and twisted his arm. Kazari jumped off of the wall and dropped his foot on Kazu, who blocked with his arms and took this opportunity to kick Kazari into the opposite wall. Kazari slammed against the wall and fell on his chest. Mezool wanted to help, but stayed back. Kazari struggled to stand, but Kazu kicked him back down. As he looked down at Kazari, Kazu spoke down on him, "That's your place. The floor. You deserve nothing higher." He fixed his coat and walked off. Mezool took this opportunity to run up to Kazari and help him up. He jerked himself away from her and said, "Thanks for the help NOW." Mezool looked at him and stated, "It wouldn't be good if we were both hurt." Kazari scoffed and said, "Whatever." He continued up the hallway with Mezool. After a few minutes of silence, she finally spoke up, "Why?" Kazari pretended not to hear. She took this as a cue to continue, "It would've been better if we were still dead. OOO is a wall we can't scale." Kazari spoke, "With that attitude, we're definitely not gonna scale that wall." She looked at him and said, "Do YOU have a plan?" Kazari replied, "Not right now, but it's there. Give me some time." Mezool smiled, "That's what I like about you. You always think on your feet." Kazari looked at her funny and said, "You hittin' on me?" Mezool quickly looked away and responded, "No! I don't have a reason yet!" Kazari smirked, "Yet?" She looked back at him with a now red face, "Ever!" Kazari grinned and shrugged off the insult.

The next day, Kengo handed the Fourze Driver over to Gentaro and said, "There." Gentaro looked at it and said, "Yes! I'm back in the game! But what about you? You're the new Fourze." Kengo walked into his lab and said, "Watch this." He grabbed the module glove he used to remove the poison from Gentaro as well as revive him. He blew dust off of it and said, "I haven't had to use this in a long time. I'm glad Miu made me keep it." Gentaro spoke, "That's the power glove that saved me in my dire moments!" Kengo nodded and said, "After extensive research, I was able to find a hidden ability within the Core Switch." Gentaro interrupted, "The one from inside you?" Kengo nodded again. He then slipped the glove on and placed the Core Switch in the glove. When he activated the switch, a bright, sparkling light flashed for a moment. As the light subsided, Gentaro saw the completed product of Kengo's theory. His eyes widened at the sight of it. "SUGOI, KENGO!"

The two friends returned to Miu's mansion. Gentaro burst through the door, startling everyone and held up the Fourze driver. JK stood up and said, "Did you beat Kengo up for that?" Daiki chuckled and chimed in, "It'd be pretty funny if he did." Natsumi hit Daiki in the arm. Gentaro stumbled back and said, "N-no!" Miu stood next and said, "You better had not laid a finger on him!" Gentaro spoke, "I-I mean, we DID do the handshake..." In that instance, a new, white-suited Kamen Rider stepped through the door. Everyone looked at the figure with surprised eyes. The rider had shoulder guards that had small, blue stalactites hanging down from them. On its head were blue stalagmites. Its belt was akin to the Core Switch and Fourze Driver. It had small, blue stalagmites creeping up its arms and legs from the boots and gloves. Finally, its eyes were a faded, yellow color. A familiar voice came from the rider, "Kamen Rider…" He posed as Kamen Rider Ichigo would and finished, "… Hayabusa." Gentaro grinned and said, "It was cool even back at the Rabbit Hutch!" Tomoko spoke up, "K-Kengo?" Everyone's eyes shot to Tomoko, and then back at the rider, then back at Tomoko. Finally, they all looked at the rider and said, "KENGO?!" The rider powered down and, sure enough, revealed Kengo. He smiled and said, "Fourteen." Miu squealed and said, "You are so cool, Ken-kun!" Yuki chimed in, "You look like a guardian angel sent from space!" Yuusuke spoke up, "That name sounds cool! If I could've picked a name, I would've chosen that." Kengo looked at Yuki and said, "I saw Hayabusa-kun when I transformed and thought about it." Ryu said, "You're never that cool, Shotaro." Shotaro dusted his fedora off and said, "Why focus on being cool if I'm always cool?" Just then, he heard his partner's voice, "You're cool? This is fascinating. I'm gonna look into a remedy for you." Shotaro attempted to justify his words, but gave up. He placed his fedora back on his head and said, "There's no stopping that boy when he sets his mind to something."

Eiji, Hina, and Miu's maid walked into the room with trays of tea and snacks. Kivala flapped out of Natsumi's shirt pocket and yawned. "What a lovely batnap~!" Natsumi smiled and said, "Good morning, Kivala!" All of the girls in the group surrounded Natsumi and Kivala with awe in their eyes. Miu said, "She's so cute!" Hina said, "Kawaii!" Tomoko spoke, "She's like a neo-Romanesque, mini-bat. If neo-Romanesque was cute." Kivala winked at them all and said, "Awww, thank you~!" Natsumi stepped in, "She's the reason I can transform." Everyone grabbed a seat as they went over the situation again. Haruto spoke, "Okay, so now we're fourteen strong." Tsukasa threw in, "Would've been nineteen if naysayer over here didn't say nay." Shotaro stood up and said, "SHUT UP! THAT GUY GETS ON MY NERVES!" Ryuusei pulled Shotaro back down and said, "Calm down. Anyway, we're pretty well enforced. Especially since we now have Hayabusa to drop some slack on." Kengo nodded and said, "Hayabusa probably wouldn't exist if Miu didn't stop me from scrapping the module glove. I'm glad she did." Miu smiled and said, "I knew it'd have its use someday." Daiki spoke, "So we've gotten a team together. What do we know of the enemy?" JK raised his hand and said, "I got some insight on it."

He stood up and began pacing. "Well, we know that Dopants, Greeed, Zodiarts, and Phantoms are banding together. But in order for them to all come to an agreement as such, who would have to be the mastermind?" Goto pointed at JK, "Kougami Foundation!" Shotaro pointed his fedora at JK, "Foundation X." Gentaro stood up, "GAMOU IS BACK?!" Tsukasa stood up and calmly said, "It's not my fault, but I'm sorry. It's my fault." JK looked at Tsukasa with a mind full of fuck and said, "No." He stepped in front of the fireplace and pointed at the table with a sign on it. On the sign was Dai-Shocker's logo. Everyone looked down at the sign and let it sink in. Simultaneously, they all laughed. Tsukasa spoke, "We finished Dai-Shocker when Daiki here attempted to rule the world. Well technically, Fourze and the Go-Busters did." Daiki looked away from the group and said, "I almost had it." Date spoke up, "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." JK finished his insight, "Also, we have someone here hiding something from us." He looked over at Ankh, who was eating ice candy. Everyone laid eyes on him. Ankh gave everyone a smug look and said, "You're really gonna believe some idiot with as much info as the rest of us?" Gentaro stood up and said, "JK's the best informant in the world!" Shotaro stepped in, "But four brains are better than one." He counted off his fingers as he recited their names, "Watcherman, Santa-chan, Queen, and Elizabeth." Ryu interrupted, "At any rate, we now have five informants." Eiji looked at Ankh and said, "Ankh, are you hiding something from us?" Ankh simply scoffed and said, "Whatever." Before he could bite his ice candy again, Eiji snatched it from him and said, "You get no ice candy until you tell us what you know." Ankh sighed and said, "I can feel their presence again. Kazari, Mezool, Uva, Gamel, Dr. Maki, and Lost Ankh. They're back." Eiji, Hina, Goto, and Date's eyes widened. Goto spoke, "Dr. Maki… He's alive?" Ankh snatched the ice candy back from Eiji and said, "Yup." Hina looked at Eiji and said, "That voice from before was right. Something's going on." JK added, "Once again, who has technology for this?" He pointed at the sign, but Date spoke up, "Kougami." Ryu said, "Sonozaki." Ryuusei threw in, "Gamou." Haruto said, "Wiseman." JK looked at Haruto and exclaimed, "WHO?!" Tsukasa recited again, "It wasn't me, but my bad. It was me." JK toppled over and said, "This is hopeless…"

Meanwhile, at Dai-Shocker Foundation, Dr. Maki and Kazu put the finishing touches on what was the project Dr. Maki was working on. Kazu plugged some wires into a laptop and said, "It's ready." Dr. Maki looked at the doll sitting on his shoulder and hit the "enter" key. Upon hitting the key, the boot-up sequence was activated to restore the Zodiarts Switches. A bright light flashed followed by a gust of wind. Great Leader grinned while Kougami bellowed, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZODIARTS!" Kazu smirked, Gamel and Uva looked in marvel. Lost Ankh stood out of his seat, while Kazari and Mezool stared without falter. The doll fell off of Dr. Maki's arm from the wind. When it hit the floor, Dr. Maki froze in a whimsical pose due to his failure at catching the doll before it hit the floor. When the light faded, the Zodiarts Switches hit the ground in front of the figures that were revived with them. The figures that rose, however, were not the Switchers, but the Zodiarts themselves. Sagittarius looked at its arm and fired a bow at a wall. Leo and Libra stood next, followed by the other nine Zodiarts.

In that instance, Kengo dropped his cup of tea. Miu jumped and said, "OOPS!" Ryuusei asked, "What's wrong?" Kengo stood up fast and said, "The Zodiarts are back!" Everyone's eyes widened at his words. Gentaro sighed heavily, "All of that work! We gotta do it again?" Eiji cut in, "This time, they have Greeed with them." Ryu pushed himself off the wall and said, "Why are we waiting for them to make the first move? Let's do something about it now." Kengo replied, "I wish it were that easy. I can sense them, but I can't track them." Eiji looked at Ankh and spoke, "Ankh, please. You gotta help us track them." Ankh looked at Eiji for a moment, scoffed, and stood up. "I want another year's supply of ice candy." Eiji shook his head and chuckled. As they left the mansion, Haruto stopped and said, "Wouldn't it be dangerous for everyone else to be there?" Shotaro added, "It'd be difficult with them here as well." Kengo gave the Gate Switch to Miu and said, "Minus the riders, there's enough space for everyone to go to the Rabbit Hutch. At least there, you have some protection. We'll be back." Miu immediately locked lips with Kengo and made it count. Eiji and Hina nervously exchanged looks between each other. Tomoko looked at Ryuusei but when he looked back at her, she quickly looked away. He laughed a bit and put his hand on her head, "It'll be fine. We stopped them once before, we can do it again."

When Miu backed away from Kengo, he inhaled and said, "I-I mean, it's not like we're leaving permanently. We'll be back for sure." Miu smiled and replied, "I remember back when we first met. I found myself falling for Gentaro more than Shun because of Gentaro's diligence and how different he was. Then I realized that none of this would be possible without you. Without your existence, who knows, I might have still been with Shun leading a lifestyle I no longer like anymore." Shun attempted to say something, but JK stopped him and gestured over to Miu. She continued on, "I love you all, but you're my partner for life, Kengo. We can tackle anything we face if we try." A tear slid down her cheek as she talked. Kengo saw this and softly sighed. Miu ended her statement, "Okay. I'm not gonna hold you guys up anymore. I just wanted you to know how much I love you. Now go kick Zodi-ass, Hayabusa!" Kengo smirked at her pun and said, "I love you more and more every time I think of you. I wouldn't want to lose you, so I'll definitely stay alive." Ryuusei exhaled and said, "Oh hell, Tomoko. I love you!" Tomoko's face turned a bright red at hearing these words. Tsukasa looked at Natsumi and said, "Don't get in my way, Natsumikan." Natsumi pouted, "Yeah, how romantic, Tsukasa-kun!" Daiki looked at them and shook his head. Ryuusei continued, "With me on the team, we're guaranteed to win." Shotaro spoke up, "That's my line, hero." Ryu remarked, "You weren't quick enough." Miu looked at Kengo and said, "Go. I'll make sure all of us "norms" make it safely to the base." Kengo chuckled and said, "You nerd." Miu struck a sexy pose and said, "I lead 'em. Now go." Kengo nodded and began walking off with the rest of the crew. Miu and Yuki led everyone else in the opposite direction.

Now the warriors of the world; Haruto, Kengo, Gentaro, Ryuusei, Shun, Eiji, Goto, Date, Shotaro, Ryu, Tsukasa, Daiki, Natsumi, and Yuusuke approached the base of Dai-Shocker with Ankh as the point man. Tsukasa spoke up, "I knew it wasn't my fault." Natsumi gave him a stupid look and said, "We knew that a few hours ago. A few YEARS ago, in fact!" Yuusuke spoke, "Okay, that's enough." Ryuusei said, "Turns out JK was right." They all hesitated for a minute. Haruto spoke, "So we're all in agreement. We don't apologize later." Everyone agreed wholeheartedly. They stood for a minute and stared at the foundation, unaware of what evil may come out of it.


	3. Preemptive Strike Was Too Preemptive!

Erika Satonaka was sitting on her bed looking through catalogues of different designer brand outfits and accessories. There was nothing in particular that caught her eye, so she closed the booklet and sat it with a pile of other catalogues she had already browsed through. She decided to check her cell phone for any new messages she might've missed. It had been a day and a half since she last spoke to Goto. He usually makes it a habit to call her at least once a day, but it felt like a week to Erika. As she scrolled through her phone, she saw nothing new. She sighed and said, "Maybe it's a situation he can finally handle by himself." As she got off of her bed, she tossed the phone where she was sitting and walked to her balcony doors to open them and look outside. What she saw, instead, was Kazari and Mezool in their full armor forms. Before she could gasp, Mezool struck. Erika thought quick and blocked the attack. She fended Mezool off, but Kazari's inhuman speed was too much for her. He restrained her from behind and with a single blow to the stomach by Mezool, Erika passed out. As Kazari hoisted her up on his shoulder, Mezool folded her arms and asked, "So kidnap the girl? How is she important in any way?" Kazari sighed and said, "Calm down. Plans are better thought as their implemented. That way, error isn't a factor to weigh in and it allows for quick thinking. Mezool looked at him and spoke, "So what's the next part of your plan?" Kazari exchanged looks with her and said, "I have no idea." Mezool exclaimed, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Kazari laughed and replied, "Of course not. I know what the next step of my plan is. It's _my _plan." Mezool hit him in the chest and sighed, "Mou. You're being difficult." She and Kazari jumped out of the window. In that instance, her phone rang. She had received a call from…

"Satonaka, when you can, call me back." Goto ended the message and hung up. Date looked at him and said, "You're not gonna win her over with that kind of attitude, Goto-chan." Goto slid his phone into his pocket and looked at Date with a confused look as he walked back toward the group. Eiji looked at Goto and asked, "No reply?" Goto simply shook his head and said, "With all of us, we should manage nonetheless." Kengo popped open his trusty Astroswitch Kaban to review the data being received from Burgermeal. Tsukasa and Shotaro knelt down next to Kengo to view the screen while Gentaro and Ryuusei watched from behind them. Haruto walked back over to the group with the information he received from his Unicorn PlaMonster. He spoke to Kengo, "Unicorn has done ground recon. I'm gonna send Garuda and give you the information I received from it." Kengo nodded and Haruto switched from his blue Unicorn ring to his red Garuda ring. As his winged companion soared towards him, he spoke to it, "I want you to do aerial recon of that place. Please stay quiet." The garuda let out a quiet screech and flew towards the structure. Gentaro spoke, "THAT IS SO COOL! I want a bird like that!" Haruto shook his head and said, "Not gonna happen. I'm a mage, and the PlaMonsters require magic." Gentaro scratched his head and said, "I-I know, it was just a thought." Haruto knelt down next to Shotaro and said, "So Unicorn has covered the sub-basements and first floor. Surprisingly enough, most of the place is empty." Just then, a voice came from behind them, "It's empty because of Decade." They all immediately turned around to find Doctor Shinigami, Kazu, and Dr. Maki standing on a boulder behind them. Shotaro exclaimed, "UTOPIA!" In that instance, Phillip closed his world book and said, "He's still alive?!" Chiyoko looked at Phillip and said, "Who's still alive?" Shotaro said aloud, "Be ready, partner." Phillip responded, "Aren't I always?" Daiki pulled out his Diendriver and loaded Diend into it. As he did so, he spoke, "Doctor Shinigami. How many times have you died now? You don't wanna do this. You're gonna get more than just a beatdown." Doctor Shinigami threw his cape from around him to reveal Ikadevil and spoke, "We'll see this time." On that note, Uva, Gamel, Lost Ankh, and the Zodiarts all showed up.

Gentaro's eyes widened when he saw Sagittarius. "Gamou?!" Kengo shook his head and said, "No, that's just a mere shell of Sagittarius. No need to hold back." Gentaro donned the Fourze Driver and Kengo armed himself with the Busa Driver. As they transformed, Shotaro slapped his W Driver onto his waist and said, "I guess we're doing this." Phillip sat his book down and said, "I wanna be there. Let's go Extreme." Shotaro said, "I have no problem with that", and hit the button on his Joker memory. Tsukasa pulled out his Decade card and loaded it into his Decadriver. Upon doing so, he spoke, "I have nothing to say." Garuda returned to Haruto and he received the ring from it. "Good timing, Garuda. I need as much magic as possible." He slid the Driver On ring onto his finger and placed his hand in front of his belt buckle to summon the WizarDriver. Ankh backed up as Eiji put the OOO Driver on his waist. Dr. Maki spoke, "You can guess where this is going." He pulled out three purple medals and chucked them at Eiji's chest. They, however, were stopped by Eiji. He simply smacked them down and continued to put the TaToBa combo into the Driver. Dr. Maki looked at his doll, nodded, and said, "It was a mere test. I guess since these aren't originals, they don't take on the same effect." Kazu smirked, "Or maybe you're just weak." He pulled out the Utopia memory and pressed the button on the device. Dr. Maki, Uva, Gamel, and Lost Ankh transformed into their armored forms. As the villains readied themselves, the main Riders and Kengo simultaneously chanted the Kamen Rider battlecry, "HENSHIN." A mass of sounds and lights occurred, then died down.

Tsukasa spoke, "Don't mind me, I'm just passing through." He readied his fighting stance and said, "Decade." A winged-memory flew onto the scene and attached itself to the dual rider's driver. They then proceeded to separate themselves to reveal a crystal-like part of them, followed by a flashing light and suit modifications. When it subsided, the duo sounded off next, "Now, count your sins." They looked at the adversary and said, "Double." Eiji stepped up and followed next, "For the sake of this world, I'll transform." He stood in his fighting stance and said, "Ozu." Gentaro slid his hands past his helmet and said, "Let's settle this man-to-man." He thrusted his fist out and said, "Fourze." Kengo stared his enemies down and spoke, "My father's legacy lives on through me." He took Kamen Rider Ichigo's pose and said, "Hayabusa." Haruto stood poised and followed up, "Now it's showtime." He raised his hand to reveal his Flame ring and said, "Wizard." They all finished, "Heisei Sentai… KAMEN RIDER!" Expecting explosions was a little unorthodox, however, explosions happened. Ryuusei said, "… That's just too much." The secondary riders donned their devices and transformed while Shun hopped into Powerdizer.

Just then, Mezool showed up and spoke, "Sorry we're late!" Shotaro replied, "'We?'" Kazari showed up with Erika over his shoulder. Birth yelled, "Oh hell!" Birth Prototype spoke, "Hey, that's Satonaka." He tapped Birth on the shoulder and said, "Hey, Goto-chan. There's Satonaka." Goto shouted at him, "GODDAMMIT, I'M NOT BLIND, DATE-SAN!" Erika slowly came to and noticed she was being carried. Though she was conscious, she was too dazed to fight back. That is, until she heard the magic words, "Satonaka, my next two paychecks are yours if you can break free." She sighed heavily and muttered, "The things he makes me do…" Kazari tried to hear what she said, but she had broken out of his clutches and clipped him. Before anyone could notice what happened, she had already jumped off of the boulder that Dai-Shocker stood on and was running top speed towards the riders. She stopped by Birth and said, "You happy?" He nodded and replied, "Now we can attack full force." He handed his Birth Buster to her and said, "Well, at least you made it." She looked at him and said, "You called?" He looked back at the enemy and said, "That doesn't matter right now. We got work to do." She shrugged and aimed the buster towards her target.

Mezool helped Kazari up and said, "So was this part of your plan?" He scratched the back of his head and said, "Not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting it." Utopia looked back at Kazari and said, "So you were conducting plans behind the Great Leader's back?!" Kazari snapped back, "Shut up! The enemy's over there!" Fourze yelled, "I'M TIRED OF STANDING AROUND! UCHUUUU KITAAAAAA!" and took off with his booster pack. Hayabusa shook his head and followed after him. Dai-Shocker returned the favor by entering the battlefield. Diend summoned Ixa, Kaixa, Kabuki, and Kabuto to even the field more. Erika kept her distance and fired Cell Medals from afar for support. Hayabusa swapped out his Core Switch for Fire Switch. When he activated it, his suit changed color with the white part of his suit turning red and his eyes, shoulderpads, gloves, and boots turning black with yellow tips. He fired shots at different enemies and kept distance as well. Wizard swapped his Flame ring for Land. He then used the Drill ring to delve underground and attack from below. Shun combated with Gamel to counter the competition of strength. Kabuto clocked up to keep up with Kazari. Fourze kept tabs on Leo and Gemini. Accel took it up to Trial and aided W in facing off with Utopia. Kaixa and Kabuki fought off three other Zodiarts and Uva. Kivala and OOO fought with Aquarius and Mezool. As the fight raged on, the Great Leader and Kougami were busy finishing up the next phase of the plan. As 25 memories came into play, so did 25 Dopant. Kougami grinned and said, "I have a lot of birthdays today!" The Great Leader chuckled and said, "Go, my creations." They nodded in unison and filed out towards the field.

Meanwhile on the field, the riders appeared to be winning. Some of the Zodiarts had fallen back, followed by Uva and Dr. Maki. Kabuto led Kazari into the fight between Kivala and Mezool. Kazari crashed into Mezool, but caught her before she could fall. For a brief second, it felt like time froze for Mezool. Kazari stood her back up and chased after Kabuto again. Kivala dropped her offense and said, "His reflexes are like a cat's. But how are yours?" She attacked, but Mezool's attention wasn't completely faded. They went back to their strife. Out of nowhere, the weather changed. Everyone looked at the sky as snow started falling. Accel was the first one to catch on, followed by W. Fourze started shivering and said, "Why the hell is it snowing?" Accel spoke, "This is bad." Phillip followed up, "If it's that one, then the other 24 must be complete as well." Shotaro replied, "That's true." Suddendly, the riders were fired upon by Cell Medals. Birth looked back to see Erika aiming her buster directly at him. As Birth ran towards her, he loaded a Cell Medal into his Birth Driver and summoned Caterpillar Legs. He had reached top speed when she fired more Cell Medals in the Birth Buster on his driver. It's malfunctioning caused him to de-henshin, but his momentum kept him going. She fired the rest of the Cell Medals at the now vulnerable Goto, but he was determined to stop her. He took some shots, but ultimately tackled her to the ground and disarmed her. He noticed a dart in her shoulder and immediately pulled it out. She looked up at Goto on top of her and said, "What are you doing?" Before he could explain, the Beast Dopant appeared from out of nowhere and attacked them both. Goto decided to shield her with his body, but Meteor Storm quickly intervened and warded off the Beast Dopant. Phillip spoke, "That was definitely Zone's ability." Shotaro finished, "Meaning they HAVE returned.

Violence turned into a ball and jumped into the battlefield, but Shun caught it before it could cause any major damage. Violence's wrath shorted out one of the Powerdizer's arms, making the battle that much more difficult. Shun was knocked backwards and slid across the ground. He spoke from the mech, "Damn! We're taking abuse." Luckily, OOO came through as a strength backup with SaGoZou. He held off Violence long enough for it to turn back into its normal form. Before it could launch its wrecking ball at anyone, Wizard rose from the ground to temporarily stun Violence. He swapped the Drill ring for Big ring and held the Dopant off for OOO. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough time as OOO was attacked from behind by Arms. Kuuga dropkicked Arms before it could strike OOO again as OOO set in the medal combo for ShaUTa. He released a torrent of water on Arms as Kuuga changed to Dragon form and rode the torrent for a finishing move he immediately deemed Super Splash Dragon. With that, Arms was defeated. One enemy out of the way. Mezool stepped back from her fight with Kivala as Taboo and Claydoll bombarded Kivala with blasts. Gene warped behind Accel using Zone's ability and turned Accel's left leg into a giant bag of cotton candy. Without balance, Accel was unable to dash around, though he could still manage some. Hayabusa removed the Fire Switch and replaced it with Electric. His suit changed to a glossy, yellow tint with black lightning bolts crossing over his chest, black shoulderpads, boots, and gloves and blue eyes. He charged Billy the Rod for a Limit Break on Violence, but Weather Dopant quickly interrupted by making a raging storm. Lightning bolts were drawn to Hayabusa, sending electricity coursing through his body. Had he not been in Electric States, the attack would've been more detrimental, but it was still harmful. Hayabusa dropped to a knee and immediately removed the switch, changing back into his base states. Fourze ran to his friend's aide as the storm raged on. Unbeknownst to Weather, strong winds activate W Extreme's hidden form, CycloneJoker Golden Extreme.

The crystal server in the middle of the rider changed from white to gold, and wings sprouted from their back. The rider ascended to the middle of the sky and subdued the storm with a single wing beat. Phillip spoke, "Guys, we can't stay here. We're out-powered at this point in time. Our chances of winning are slim to none." Hayabusa struggled to stand, then followed up, "He's right. We shouldn't have rushed in. We might've taken this if the Dopants didn't immediately factor in." Kazari sneered, "What, can't handle the heat?" Decade replied, "Not just yet. In due time, we'll stomp you." With that, he created a portal and carried half of the people out of the battlefield. Diend followed with the other half of the team. The familiars began cheering and raving over their victory. However, the war was not over.

The portals led to the front of Miu's mansion. Due to boyfriend benefits, Kengo had a key. He opened the door and toppled in. He crawled to the couch while other people limped, and the rest helped each other in. Kengo asked, "Tsukasa, can you pick everyone up from the Rabbit Hutch? We have matters to attend to." Tsukasa nodded and created a portal to the Rabbit Hutch. After stepping through the portal, it closed. Within a matter of seconds, it opened up again. Miu was the first one out of the portal as he ran to Kengo's side and knelt next to him. She immediately spoke, "WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL FOR HELP?!" Kengo replied, "Don't worry about it. Everyone's still alive." Gentaro chimed in, "If it weren't for Electric States, you'd probably be dead." Miu scolded Kengo, "See, if you just called, this wouldn't be an issue." He nodded in agreement and she said, "But, it IS a good thing no one was killed." Tomoko rested Ryuusei's head on her lap and asked, "What exactly happened?" Yuusuke spoke up, "We were ready to destroy them. It was supposed to be real simple." Phillip finished the statement, "But Dai-Shocker released 25 more recruits." All of the riders' jaws dropped. JK shouted, "HA! I KNEW IT WAS DAI-SHOCKER! You guys thought my reasoning was bad?! Well, this just shows that I shut you _all_ up!" Haruto said, "Yeah, we never _did_ tell Phillip we weren't gonna tell him he was right." JK exclaimed, "YOU WERE ALL GONNA LIE TO ME?!" Ryuusei sat up, but Tomoko brought him back down. He said his statement from her lap, "It was for your own protection." JK said, "What protection?" Shun cracked his knuckles and said, "Your gloating makes me wanna pulverize you." Yuki threw her hands up and walked away, "I saw nothing, Shun-sempai." JK sat down and imitated the motions of "sealed lips."

Erika looked at Goto, who held the damaged Birth Driver as he leaned against a wall. She leaned next to him and said, "It's broken again? You need to be more careful." He let out a sigh before sitting the driver down on a drawer. He pushed himself off of the wall and said, "I'm gonna get some air. It's kinda stuffy in here." He asked the maid to direct him to a balcony he can stand on and she happily obliged. Erika looked back at the group who all had eyes on her. She looked at them confused and said, "Don't stare _too_ hard." Shotaro spoke first, "He's upset." Erika shrugged her shoulders and said, "The Birth Driver _always_ gets broken in battle." Date picked up the damaged driver and said, "But look at these perforations. They're in the shape of medals." Ryu spoke next, "The only device that can fire medals is the Birth Buster." Kengo finished, "Which you used." Erika shook her head in denial and said, "I never fired at him." Tsukasa immediately shattered the ice, "Yes you did. We all saw it." Natsumi hit Tsukasa in the chest and pouted, "Try a least brunt approach next time!" Erika spoke again, "I don't remember that happening." Phillip spoke up, "Ah, but here's where the pieces fall together." He pointed at Erika and grinned, "Liar." Erika tilted her head to the side out of confusion. Shotaro slapped Phillip's hand down and said, "You idiot. That's an incomplete statement." He cleared his throat and continued, "The Liar Dopant's ability is to whisper a statement towards its target. When that happens, a dart hits said target and forces them to abide by the statement." Erika nodded and thought on it for a second. She looked back at the group and said, "So I destroyed the Birth Driver?!" Ryu nodded and said, "You also pegged him a couple of times." Erika looked away and said, "Crap." She looked at Date and said, "So he had me pinned down so he could remove the dart?" Date simply nodded. She looked away again and said, "Oops." Miu spoke, "'Oops' is right." Kengo and Gentaro looked at Miu, then back at each other and shook their heads. Ryuusei spoke up, "I think that battle just now said a lot." Erika looked at him confused. He continued, "For one, he was the first one to act on your captivity." Natsumi spoke next, "He also called you for support, even though it wasn't necessary." Haruto chimed in, "He wasted no time in acting upon your safety." Shun added, "When the Beast Dopant attacked you both, he put his life on the line for yours." Daiki continued, "And all you told him was to be careful with the driver next time." Erika, at this point in time, felt like crap. Eiji smiled and finished, "You know, I've noticed that you cause him more grief in battle than Yummy do." Ankh laughed and said, "Good job." Eiji and Hina both threw pillows at him while Shun flipped him off of the couch. Erika folded her arms and immediately spoke up, "I get it! Geez, I'll go talk to him." She walked out of the room and followed after him. Date spoke, "Know what, it IS kinda stuffy in here."

Erika arrived at the balcony as Goto leaned off of the rail. She slowly walked towards him and said, "Hey." He glanced at her, then back out at the scenery and said, "Hey." She surveyed the wounds on his arm and chest and said, "You okay?" Goto continued to look out at the view. A few long seconds passed before he spoke, "I think I'm gonna end it all." Erika immediately looked at him and hesitated. These were words she wasn't expecting, especially from Shintaro Goto. He was well known for always walking the righteous path no matter the trials and tribulations. The phrase she heard from his lips made her heart sink. She asked, "Why would you do that?" He shook his head and spoke, "All I do day in and day out is try. Try my hardest, and the harder I try, the harder I fail in my goal. If that's the case, there's no reason for me to continue." She spoke up, "That's not an excuse!" He looked at her as she vented. "So because you're having difficulty in your life, you're gonna just give up? What about the people that love and care for you?" An anger tear rolled down her face. She continued, "If the walls feel like they're caving in on you, don't be afraid to ask me for help. That's what I'm here for! I'll hold them apart for you!" She wrapped her arms around his right arm and placed her forehead on his shoulder. "Goto, don't leave us. We need you. _I_ need you." The words he has wanted to hear since they first started working together. They hit hard and made him feel at ease. Those three words immediately cleared his mind and helped him realize that his work isn't done yet. He looked down at Erika and said, "I guess you see it now as well, Satonaka." She spoke, "Please. Call me Erika." He smiled and said, "Erika, _I_ need you. It's not the backup that I want on the battlefield with me, it's you." She looked up at him surprised. He continued, "I do fine in battle alone or with Date-san, but with you there, I get reckless." She tilted her head and said, "Isn't that bad?" He replied, "It lets me know I'm trying my utmost. Because of you. I…" He took a deep breath and built up enough courage to say to her, "I love you, Erika-san." A few more tears trickled down her face. As if it were clockwork, he wiped them from her face and she started crying. She buried her face in his chest as he hugged her. In a muffled tone, she uttered the words, "I love you too, Goto-san!" A few minutes passed before she looked up at him again and said, "Just don't contemplate suicide again. You really shook me." Goto looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean? I was talking about ending my career as an enforcer." Erika was stumped. She hit him in the chest and said, "CLARIFY THAT NEXT TIME!" He laughed a little at her statement and she giggled. He took this opportunity to perform the couple's ritual. Catching her off guard, he planted a quick kiss upon her lips. They backed away for a second, then proceeded to make it official with a longer kiss.

They walked back into the main room where everyone was waiting. Yuki spoke first, "So is everything okay?" Goto smiled and said, "Yeah, we worked things out." Date replied, "Goto-chan, how much did you offer her?" Erika looked at Goto and said, "I gave him the exclusive boyfriend's discount. My services are free to him." Smiles and grins spread across the room as everyone congratulated the two. Date yelled, "GOTO-CHAN, NICE!" Natsumi said, "I'm happy for you two!" JK gave them the photographer's eye. Tomoko and Ryuusei clapped for them. The only two that had no care for the situation were Ankh, of course, and Tsukasa. While everyone cheered for them, Hina heard Eiji's stomach rumble. She looked at him and said, "You're hungry." Eiji looked at her and said, "No, Hina-chan, I'm fine." Hina groaned, "Mou, Eiji-kun!" At that point in time, everyone could eat. They decided to end their day on a good note with the new couple and an old fashioned feast. In which Tomoko attempted to decorate with Cicadas. Luckily, Ryuusei stopped her.


	4. Let's Make a Strong Team Stronger

Miu decided to let everyone stay over at her place. It'd be an inconvenience if someone wasn't reachable. She, Hina, Natsumi, Haruto, and the maid returned with enough pillows and futons for everyone. JK complained, "It's only 11:43pm! Why are we sleeping so early?" Miu gave him a smug look and said, "This is so that it's not a hassle later, JK. Stop complaining." Gentaro chuckled and teased, "Yeah, quit complaining, JK." JK replied, "I'm not complaining!" Tomoko quietly joked, "You want some cheese with that whine?" Everyone, even Ankh, laughed harder than they should've. Not because of the joke, but how timed it was. Ryuusei high-fived Tomoko. JK frowned his face up and said, "The party begins and I'M the target…" Yuusuke and Shun helped the maid bring in nighttime snacks for everyone. As they all nibbled and munched on the treats, Eiji smiled and said, "This is nice. Even though we're in a crisis, everyone still finds time to smile. I'm glad I know you all." Hina looked at him and smiled, "Of course, Eiji-kun. We all know what's important in life." Shotaro chimed in, "We can't let negativity bring our hopes down. We have to keep our chests puffed out and brave whatever comes our way in a hard-boiled manner." Haruto finished, "We are the hopes, no… the "hope" of the world." Daiki sat up from lounging on his futon and said, "That sounds like a cliché line from some superhero show." Gentaro spoke, "It does, but it's completely true. I mean, look at us! We're superheroes!" Shun nodded and said, "And a mech operator." Erika looked around and said, "So where are Goto and Date-san?" They heard Date call from upstairs, "We're on our way down!"

They had blueprint rolls and writing instruments in their hands. Yuki stood up and said, "What's all of this?!" Goto and Date laid the plans out and said, "An upgraded version of the Birth Driver." Kengo stood up and took a look at the blueprints. After a few seconds, he spoke, "There are a few flaws that would hinder performance, but we can work them out." Date nodded and said, "We're definitely gonna need as many hands as possible for this." Erika looked at Goto and asked, "What about the original Birth Driver?" Date quickly raised his hand and said, "I call dibs!" Erika tilted her head to the side, and Goto filled her in, "I'm gonna take over for the new Birth Driver. We're gonna repair the original one and…" He handed the prototype driver to Erika and finished, "You're gonna take the prototype. We're gonna be on the battlefield a lot more." She smirked and said, "Fine with me. Date-san, I'm taking 5% of your pay." Date shrugged and said, "I don't care. Take all of it. I don't need it." Ryuusei spoke up, "How soon can this get done?" Kengo took a good look at the plans and said, "Less than a day, bu…" He quickly dropped to a knee. Miu tended to him, "Hey, are you okay, baby?!" He slid onto the couch and said, "Yeah. That's what I was trying to say. I've been awake for over a day. Not to mention I had millions of volts ran through me." Ankh scoffed and said, "How you aren't dead is beyond me, but I digress." Miu pulled his head down on her lap and said, "No work for you, mister. Get some rest." Kengo joked, "Read me a bedtime story, mommy?" She smiled and politely replied, "Sure. Go to sleep and imagine me reading the story, baby." Kengo chuckled a little, as did Miu, and closed his eyes. Miu stroked his head as she watched him drift off. It seemed to separate her from the reality that was before the group. She kissed his forehead and softly said, "Goodnight, Kengo." He had drifted so far into his slumber, he could only let out a quiet mumble of, "Goodnight, Miu.

She looked up and said, "Well, I guess Kengo and I are sleeping on the couch." Tomoko stood up and handed her a blanket for them to share. JK sighed and spoke, "Now we have to keep it down because of Sleeping Beauty." Gentaro scratched his head and said, "Actually, that battle wore me down. I was also up as long as Kengo was. I'm gonna turn in early too." Ryu added, "I have to tell my wife goodnight and rest up as well." Haruto spoke, "I need to restore my mana by sleeping, so I'm gonna sleep now as well." Goto looked at the table and said, "I was shot. I deserve sleep." Erika giggled and said, "Let's share a spot." Goto blushed and asked, "Already? We just started dating today." Erika replied, "Nothing's gonna happen… Tonight." She winked at him and he quickly looked at Date, who gave him a smile and two thumbs up. He sighed and said, "You're no help, Date-san." Looking back over at Erika, he took a deep breath and said, "Let's do this." Everyone silently clapped for his bravery.

Meanwhile, at Dai-Shocker base, Kougami and the Great Leader were having a conversation. Kougami spoke, "Great Leader, I despise you for making me bake all of these cakes, but I also respect you for bringing forth the rebirth of so many milestones!" The Great Leader smiled and said, "You're welcome. However, this isn't for you. This is for my reign over the world." He looked at Kougami as he mixed a bowl of cake batter and continued, "You will be the lone human I will not kill because you've help fund my plans." Kougami continued mixing the batter and said, "Of course! I only funded you because of the births!" The Great Leader turned away from Kougami and said, "It's a mutual benefit for us both. Either way, the end result is what will bring this novel to a close."

Before long, most of the heroes had fallen asleep. The only ones still awake were Yuki, JK, and Phillip. Phillip was exploring the files of the Gaia Library, learning more about the world. JK and Yuki leaned on the coffee table playing Tic Tac Toe and other paper-and-pencil related games. Yuki sighed and said, "This. Is boring." JK scoffed and said, "Who're YOU tellin'? It would've been nice if a FEW people stayed awake." Yuki put her head on the table and said, "What time is it?" Phillip replied, " 1:17am." JK stood up and said, "I'm gonna go take a shower. I'm sure Miu won't mind." Yuki stood up and said, "I'm with ya." JK quickly looked back and said, "What if she only has one bathroom?" Yuki quickly raised her hand and said, "I call dibs." JK stammered, "I-It was MY idea! I get first!" Yuki responded, "Whatever happened to women and children first?" JK fired back, "It left with most of the chivalry in the world. I go first!" They went back and forth for a moment before Phillip put a coin in their sights and said, "Now keep quiet. It's rude to be loud as everyone is sleeping." JK took the coin and said, "R-Right. Sorry." Yuki sheepishly bowed with JK. Yuki raised her hand and said, "I call tails." JK nodded and flipped the coin. He caught it and they both peered at the result; heads. Yuki let out a groan while JK played silent fanfares of victory in his head. He pointed at her and said, "Heads is NOT for the dead." He lightly tapped her nose and headed up the stairs to the bathroom he knew of. Yuki sulked in the corner, "But tails never fails…" JK strutted to the bathroom door and quickly turned the knob. To his surprise, the maid was just stripping down to get in her set bath. JK saw the maid's nude form and looked away in the same second. Unfortunately, he didn't get away fast enough to not alert the maid. She looked at him and smiled, "Oh, were you gonna wash? Let's bathe together. I can scrub your back." JK uncontrollably shuddered, but decided a bath is a bath…

The next morning, everyone woke up in the same general timeframe. Shotaro looked at Phillip, who was still searching through the Gaia Library. He simply scoffed and placed his hat on his head. Tomoko woke up before Ryuusei, so she decided to let her curiosity pique. Ryuusei would awaken to a creepy Tomoko poking his face. He jumped away from her and said, "The hell?!" She quickly receded her hands and said, "S-Sorry. I wanted to…" He sighed and said, "Next time, let me know you're gonna be poking me awake." She quietly nodded and sat in a chair. Ryuusei looked at Kengo and said, "So what's the plan today?" Tsukasa spoke up, "I'M the leader of the group. I say we get that new Driver under construction." His voice woke Natsumi up. When her senses gathered, she noticed her head was on Tsukasa's lap. Upon realization, she quickly jumped up and said, "S-Sorry about that!" Tsukasa looked at her and said, "What, about you lying on my lap? I don't mind. It was bound to happen anyway." Her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink, "Wh-What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Everyone else slowly raised their heads to Natsumi's outburst. Tsukasa replied, "It's supposed to mean that you fell asleep leaned against my shoulder. You got uncomfortable sitting up, so you lied down. That's all." Natsumi glanced around and said, "O-Oh…" Tsukasa smiled and playfully said, "You have a perverted mind, Natsumikan." She kicked him in his leg while he was down and huffed, "Shut up!" Haruto quickly intervened, "In times like this, donuts are necessary. He slipped the Connect Ring on his finger and activated it. He reached into the portal and pulled out a bag of donuts. Holding on to the other end of the bag was detective Rinko. She had been pulled through Haruto's portal along with the bag.

Unfortunately, she did not get her balance fast enough and tumbled onto Haruto. As they both sat up, Haruto said, "Officer, what are you doing?" Rinko sat on her feet and said, "It's Koyomi." Haruto's eyes widened at the words. "What's wrong?" Rinko gave him a confused look before playfully responding, "OH! Nothing, she wanted to check up on you." Haruto, and everyone else, gave a sigh of relief. Yuusuke spoke, "It'd be unfortunate if something happened while we were in progress of making the third Birth belt." Kengo nodded and said, "We should start on that right away. Ryuusei, Goto-san, Date-san, and Tsukasa-san, we're gonna head to the Rabbit Hutch." Tsukasa folded his arms and said, "Kengo, Ryuusei, Goto, Date, we're going to the Rabbit Hutch." Kengo and Goto stumbled over at Tsukasa's repetition of Kengo's order. Philip stepped up grinning and said, "I wanna go as well. This is something I have to witness." Shotaro chimed in, "Might as well let him. He won't take no for an answer if it's got his attention." Kengo replied, "It's fi-" Tsukasa immediately jumped in, "It's fine with me." Kengo angrily looked at Tsukasa, then over at Miu, who responded with a questioning shrug. Tsukasa opened a portal taking the six guys to the Rabbit Hutch. Before they stepped through, Ryuusei spoke, "We'll be back before nightfall." As the last man stepped through, the portal closed. JK immediately stood up and said, "I say w-" Before he could finish, everyone simultaneously said, "No." His ego instantly deflated as he sat back down with a sad face.

Meanwhile, at Dai-Shocker base, Gamel was sorting through his candy pile for the treats he wanted to eat first. Lost Ankh and Uva were playing a game of chess while Mezool, Kazari, and Dr. Maki had a chat. Kazari asked, "So pretty much what you're saying is that the other revived freaks have no human form?" Dr. Maki nodded and adjusted his doll on his shoulder as he replied, "Correct, but that does not mean they don't have basic human functions. They can speak and respond accordingly." Mezool confirmed, "So they have as much free will as we do, but all they lack is the ability to shapeshift." Dr. Maki slowly looked to Mezool and said, "Unless it's their ability to shapeshift, this is correct." Kazari grinned and said, "Well, at least there's no competition in a beauty pageant for ya, Mezool." She scoffed and folded her arms. Dr. Maki spoke up, "Even though it's not a real hindrance to the Great Leader's plans, I don't believe this is a good thing either." Kazari's grin faded as he looked back at Dr. Maki and asked, "What's that supposed to mean, doc?" Dr. Maki stood and turned around before saying, "Their lack of human forms also eliminates the emotional part of them. Any order given to them that they deem worth it will be carried out without fail." Mezool spoke, "So they follow orders without a hitch?" Lost Ankh spoke up, "So they don't accept failure. They don't stop until the mission's over. This puts us at the bottom of the food chain in this case." Mezool's eyes widened, Kazari gritted his teeth, Uva slammed down on the table, and Gamel ate his favorite snack. Dr. Maki looked at Lost Ankh with agreement as Lost Ankh placed his knight in front of Uva's king and said, "Checkmate." Mezool looked at Kazari, whose face was slowly turning red with anger.

Later that day, at the Rabbit Hutch, Kengo handed the final result of the new Birth Driver to Goto and directed him to the testing area. He placed the driver around his waist and noticed two coin slots instead of one. He looked up at Kengo and said, "There's two slots?" Kengo nodded and said, "That's the flaw I mentioned back at Miu's house. If you used only one slot, the output wouldn't have been any stronger than the prototype driver." Date chimed in, "This way, you're packing more heat than Birth. This should be awesome!" Goto shrugged and put two Cell Medals in the slots. He recited the rider's call sign, "Henshin", and turned the Grap Accelerator knob. The result was a new Kamen Rider Birth. His suit was a combination of black and silver, while his armor was green. His visor was black, and his receptacle orbs were black. Everyone marveled at the new addition to the team. Goto tested his movement in the suit and said, "Wow, it's perfect." Ryuusei added, "There's also a cool feature to the second slot." Kengo nodded and said, "It was Ryuusei's idea. Since the Meteor Driver can use Fourze's switches, he figured it'd be beneficial to also use that same ability with this driver. The second slot allows the use of Core Medals." Goto spoke with amazement, "So that means I can use Eiji's medals… Kengo, Ryuusei, you guys are geniuses!" Kengo replied, "This would've never happened without you guys laying the foundation." Philip spoke up, "Astounding! I'm glad I _did_ tag along! This is something I have to look into." Ryuusei said, "Either way, the tests were all good. It's fully operational. Go nuts." Tsukasa stood up from the bench and said, "That IS pretty cool. Since we're finished, let's go meet back up with everyone." He opened a portal back to Miu's mansion and they all stepped through.

As they all walked out of the portal, Goto immediately approached Eiji and said, "Hey, can I borrow one of your medals?" Ankh stepped between them and said, "No." He looked at Ankh with a sarcastic face and said, "Thanks, Ankh." He looked back at Eiji and said, "May I? I wanna test this out." Eiji pulled out a medal and handed it to him. Goto placed two Cell Medals in the driver and transformed. He then looked at the medal. It was Kamakiri. He slid the medal into the second slot and turned the knob. The orbs on his body and as his visor flashed green as the driver responded with, "_KAMAKIRI_." Blades sprouted out of his arm armor and everyone replied with the same reaction, "WHOA!" Goto powered down and the core medal dropped out of the driver. He handed the medal to Eiji and said, "See? No problem." After uttering those words, he quickly dropped to a knee. Eiji caught him and Erika ran to his aide. She scolded him, "Geez, you're so stubborn, Goto-san! If it takes a lot out of you, don't rush it." She and Eiji helped him to an empty room where Erika would stay with him. Miu looked at Kengo and said, "I have a question. If Goto-san, who's been training to use drivers, passed out from using the new Birth driver, how can you use the CoreDriver without any issues?" Kengo picked a donut from Haruto's bag and said, "Probably because the resonance between the Core Switch and I have lasted my entire life, it doesn't wear me down." Haruto bit into a donut and added, "That's how it is with the Dragon Phantom within me." Rinko nodded in agreement and attempted to grab a donut, but Haruto snatched the bag away from her. She looked at him with a discerned face and said, "Mou! Why can't I have one!?" Haruto passed the bag to JK and replied, "Because it's evident that you had one before you stepped through the Connect Portal. You still have sugar on your blouse." She looked down and saw the evidence that Haruto pointed out. She then let out a sigh and said, "But they're so good!" Haruto replied, "But too many will ruin your already good figure." Rinko blushed and sheepishly sat down as she responded, "O-oh…"

Kengo grabbed his pocket with the unused switch in it and thought to himself, "That probably means I can also use this… I'll try it later." Yuusuke bit into a donut and said, "At this point, it's become a fortification building race." Daiki chimed in, "And Dai-Shocker is unfortunately in the lead." Gentaro spoke up, "Well, we can always go towards our other friends of justice. There's Kabuto, Kiva, Den-O-" Shotaro immediately interrupted, "THAT'S JUST DESPERATE! WE DON'T NEED MOMO-HEAD!" Eiji replied, "We don't have time for pride to be around, Shotaro-san." Hina chimed in, "Eiji-kun is right. But why is it that you hold a vendetta against Momotaros-san?" Shotaro put his hands on his waist and said, "As petty as it may sound, he always takes my coffee." Eiji nodded and said, "Oh, I see…" Shotaro walked towards Eiji in a congratulatory manner and said, "You see?! Now you understand me! He's childish!" Eiji responded, "No, I see why you say it's petty. It's just coffee, Shotaro-san. Just ask for another cup." Shun raised his eyebrows and said, "Wow. I didn't know it was that serious." Shotaro stomped off and said, "No one understands me!" JK finished his donut and said, "So how are we gonna get in contact with the other Riders?" Tsukasa and Daiki both replied, "Leave that to us."

Kengo spoke up, "Okay, that's out of the way. Also, see if the Den-Liner can travel forward in time and recruit Poseidon." Daiki nodded and Tsukasa spoke up, "I don't know who that is, but we'll keep a lookout for him." Kengo nodded and continued on, "While they're off gathering people for the war ahead, the rest of us can train and eliminate any problems that might hinder us. Haruto, if possible, see if Wajima-san can make more Rings for you." Haruto nodded and said, "We might have to hunt for some Magic Stones, but we'll see what we can do." Kengo nodded and turned to Philip, "Philip, do a search on any other Gaia Memory that W can use as well as any Core Medals Eiji-tachi doesn't have." Philip nodded and complied with Kengo. Kengo then looked at Eiji and said, "I don't know if there are any other Core Medals we don't know of, but make sure you keep tabs on Philip's research. Shotaro said that once he starts something, he doesn't stop until he's learned everything." Eiji nodded. Kengo then looked at Ryuusei and said, "You and I are gonna work on Switches. Gentaro will test them." Gentaro jumped up and said, "YOSH! Things are gonna heat up soon!" Kengo looked at Shun and said, "Yuki's good with mechanics, so you two will work on Powerdizer's performance." Shun nodded and Yuki saluted. Kengo then looked at Ryu and said, "Ryu-san and Date-san will head up the training part of this operation. They have above average battle experience, so do as they say. After Goto-san recovers, he and Satonaka-san will be their second-in-command." Ryu spoke up, "As long as no one asks questions, I'm fine with it." Date chimed in, "Don't worry. We won't go easy on you." Yuusuke rose his hand and said, "Don't you mean 'You won't go _hard_ on us?'" Ryu spoke up, "I said no questions." Yuusuke quickly dropped his hand and said, "Oh man…" Kengo then looked at JK and said, "You and everyone else will do recon of any suspicious activity. Make sure you report everything. Our backs are to the wall and we have no room for error. Miu will lead the recon team and you will be second-in-command. Since Tomoko can sense bad auras, she will be third." JK nodded and said, "Okay, leave it to us!" Kengo looked at Miu, who was looking back with a huge smile on her face. He spoke up, "What?" She replied, "I love when you take charge. You could have my all right now and I wouldn't even hesitate to let you have it." Kengo raised his eyebrows and looked at Date, who gave him a thumbs up. Kengo then looked at the group and said, "Miu and I will be back shortly. There's some information that I need to drill into her specifically." Miu giggled at his innuendo, while smirks and grins spread across the room. Kengo spoke again, "Everyone has their roles, now let's make it happen. BREAK!" Everyone went to work while Kengo grabbed Miu by the hand as they rushed up the stairs to her room.

Haruto and Rinko rode alongside Eiji and Hina as they headed to Cous Coussier. Rinko leaned in towards Haruto and said, "So about my figure… Were you being serious?" Haruto glanced back at her and said, "Why would I lie about something like that?" She smiled and shook her head, "Nevermind, then. Thank you for looking out for me." He smiled and said, "We fight Phantoms. You're a vital member to our team, so I can't lose you like that." She grinned and wrapped her arms tighter around his waist. By the time the sun had begun to set, Natsumi and Yuusuke were completely worn down from the training Date and Ryu had them go through. Yuusuke attempted to sit up while Natsumi attempted to twitch her finger. Ryu looked at them and said to Date, "I think we wore them out." Date swept his finger across his temple and said, "I _just_ broke a sweat. You guys aren't even trying." Yuusuke said in between breaths, "I… I can't e… ven breathe!" Natsumi completely opted out of even replying to Date. JK and Tomoko traveled around the surrounding area as a pair scoping the area. Shotaro brought the news to everyone at Cous Coussier, and they kept an eye on the town as well. Yuki and Shun took a look at the blueprints of Powerdizer and went to work. Shun handled all of the muscle for the maintenance while Yuki handled the smaller, detailed parts and directed Shun with anything he missed. Ryuusei took the time to come up with new ideas for Switches. Wajima was in his workshop crafting Wizard Rings for Haruto to use. Tsukasa had recruited Kiva, Ixa, Kabuto, and the other ZECT Riders while Daiki had recruited Den-O, the Imagin, and Zeronos. Along the way to the future to find Poseidon, Daiki and company came across an alien life form that seemed to be drifting along.

Meanwhile, in Miu's bed, she and Kengo had finished with the "information" debriefing. They were both breathing heavily, her head on his chest, tracing circles on his stomach with her finger. Kengo took a big sigh and said, "And like that, no more virginity." Miu looked up at him and said, "Same here." Kengo immediately looked at her and said, "So you and Shun never…?" She smiled and shook her head. "I understand why you would say that with me being queen and him king, but I'm smarter than that. That was an image I had to uphold with him. With you, I can be myself." Kengo grinned and looked back up at the ceiling as he said, "Yes." Goto had just woke up and scanned the area. Erika was asleep, her head on the bed while she sat in a chair next to Goto. He looked at her for a second, then leant back. He looked at the new Birth Driver and thought to himself, "I worked hard to use Birth. You aren't too far out of my reach either, ReBirth Driver."


	5. Storm of Inner Conflict!

It had been about 17 hours since the plan to recruit history's Riders was set into play. JK was beginning to doze off as he walked the streets with Tomoko. He stopped to lean against a wall and groaned, "THERE'S NOTHING HAPPENING!" Tomoko turned to look at him and say, "Spiders catch their prey with patience" before she kept walking. JK staggered along behind her and said, "But we're not spiders! As human beings, we're supposed to have low tolerance!" Tomoko grabbed his arm and said, "Just come on."

Meanwhile, in Miu's room, she sat on her bed watching security cameras around the city. Kengo took the time out to hack into the city's security system for this reason. She picked popcorn from a bowl on her bed and ate them one at a time, letting her mind drift back to her exhilarating time with Kengo. As a smile stretched across her face, her phone rang. It was JK. She put the phone to her ear and whispered, "What's up?" JK whispered back, "Why are we whispering?" Miu responded, "We're dealing with kaijin, JK. There's no telling how good their hearing is." JK smirked sheepishly and said, "T-true. Anyway, we got eyes on Zodiarts near our location. And one of the guys left." Miu asked, "Where are you?" JK looked at the street sign and spoke, "Near 34 and E. 12." She switched over to the security camera closest to that area. She managed to catch a glimpse of the third figure, a light figure. She immediately started a web chat with the Rabbit Hutch. A few seconds had passed before the call was answered. She was relieved to see Kengo's face on the screen as she put her phone on speaker. Gentaro came into the camera shot and said, "What's goin' on?" Miu spoke, "JK and Tomoko spotted Zodiarts near 34 and E. 12." Ryuusei leaned in, "Zodiarts?" Yuki yelled in the background, "Oh man, we're not ready yet!" Kengo spoke, "Don't worry, Yuki. We can dispatch a few of us there. You two keep at it." Gentaro perked up, "Alright, I'm going!" Kengo stopped him and said, "Let's let Ryuusei go. Since you operate Fourze, you're the medium for Switch testing." Just then, JK chimed in, "How about Date-san-tachi? Anyone up for it?" Miu spoke, "Yeah, I can send them as well." Kengo nodded and said, "Alright, Ryuusei's on his way, JK. Stay on the phone with Miu in case they move." Miu nodded and responded, "I'm gonna call them right now." Ryuusei bolted through the door and Kengo said, "I'm gonna leave the chat line open. Miu nodded and Date came to the phone. Kengo then stood up and he and Gentaro stepped out of the lab.

Shun spoke, "I don't know about you guys, but I have this odd vibe about there being minor activity." Gentaro spoke up, "Chill out, man, we can handle whatever comes at us! Nothing in the entire universe can shine as bright as our youth!" Yuki grinned and said, "That's our Gen-chan!" Kengo folded his arms and said, "We should still be on the lookout. There's no telling what they're planning."

Meanwhile, back with JK and Tomoko, something was different with Gemini and Libra. They weren't even trying to conceal themselves. Tomoko squinted at them for a brief moment, and then her eyes widened. She whispered, "This is bad. We need to get out of here!" JK looked at the Zodiarts, then back at Tomoko a few times before Miu spoke up, "What do you see?" Tomoko stammered, "M-multiple auras are around them. There's more than just these two." Kengo halted the latest Switch test with Gentaro and rolled over to the computer, "What's happening, guys?" Fourze stepped into the room as Miu spoke, "There are unseen enemies, probably more than what we sent to the scene!" Kengo exclaimed, "Crap! We're gonna have to halt here, Gentaro. Yuki, Shun, how's Powerdizer?" Yuki looked up and said, "We're looking at 94% completion." Kengo replied, "Alright, finish up and meet us there. Gentaro, we're on." Gentaro fist pumped and yelled, "HELL YEAH!" They ran for the door and dashed out while Yuki and Shun continued on Powerdizer.

In that instance, Ryuusei and Date's team showed up. They all donned their Drivers. Tomoko tried to cut them off, but it was too late. The Zodiarts spotted them and began to act. Tomoko spoke up, "There are unseen enemies as well, Ryuusei-san. Be careful." Ryuusei glanced at her, then back to the Zodiarts and said to JK, "Take Tomoko and get somewhere safe. Make sure Burgermeal gets feedback of this." JK nodded and snatched Tomoko away from the battle. Meteor and Kuuga made the first moves. They charged in for an attack, and the Zodiarts returned the favor. As they exchanged blows, Birth, Kivala, and Accel set their backs against each other for any oncoming ambushes. Accel looked up and caught an attack heading their way. As they turned to the attack, another one came from Kivala's side, followed by one from Birth's. They were all actively engaged in combat, but the Zodiarts had them outnumbered. More grunts came their way, making the fight difficult to handle. Just then, a rain of fire came down on the grunts. Fourze stood on a roof with the Heehack Gun aimed at the enemies, "You guys are playing dirty! Not cool!" He jumped off of the roof unleashing fire on the grunts. Tomoko held Burgermeal while JK stayed on the phone with Miu, "Hey, chief, you gettin' this?" Miu watched from Astroswitch Kaban as the data recorded and replied, "Yeah, I'm catching the whole thing. But where's Kengo?" JK looked around, but didn't see him. He shrugged and said, "Your guess is as good as mine. Well, if Gen-chan's here, then there shouldn't be a problem, right?" Miu nodded and said, "That's true. Still…"

Meanwhile, in the backyard of Miu's mansion, Satonaka kept tabs on Goto's training so that he could effectively use ReBirth. With the allotted training he had done so far, he was able to remain in basic ReBirth form without strain. Eiji lent a few Core Medals to him as they sparred. After a few rounds, Goto powered down and walked over to Satonaka, who tossed him a hand towel. He wiped the sweat off of himself and said, "So what's your take on the training?" She held the clipboard up to him and said, "The time you spend in ReBirth varies depending on the switch. Some require more power output than others. It seems you can use the green and blue Core Medals the longest, up to two hours. Red and yellow Cores last an hour and a half, Grays last about an hour or so." Eiji powered down and walked up to them, "The dinosaur Cores?" She glanced at him, then looked at the clipboard. "About six minutes." Goto's eyes widened, "That's it?" She shook her head and said, "No, that's not it. Anything more than six minutes could detriment your health, even your life. As your trainer AND girlfriend, I strongly advise you don't even attempt them." Goto looked away for a minute, then came back to her and said, "If I train harder, could I extend that time?" She looked back at the charts and said, "For the red, yellow, green, blue, and gray ones, it's possible. There's something about the purple ones that keep you from growing with them." Hina came out with drinks on a platter and walked up to the group where a grim mood lingered. She looked at Eiji and asked, "Did I miss something?" He looked at her, smiled, and shook his head, "Nothing to worry about. Goto-san's really coming along great." She smiled back and said, "Thank goodness. Now this fight should be easier." She handed the two Riders drinks.

"Plain sugar." The kiosk manager and assistant toppled over at Haruto's request. Koyomi looked at Haruto and said, "Do you think EVERYONE wants plain sugar?" Haruto shrugged and said, "I can guarantee you no one dislikes it. Original is always the best one." She nodded her head in thought. Shunpei leaned against the counter and said, "I'd actually like to try the latest flavor." The manager perked up and said, "One Dark Choco-Drizzled Delight coming right up!" Shunpei added, "And a milk tea as well please!" The assistant handed Haruto a big paper bag filled with plain sugar donuts. Haruto sat the bag down on the table and slid the Connect Ring on his finger. He waved his hand across WizarDriver and it responded, "CONNECT, PLEASE." A magical portal opened up and he put the bag through, where it connected over to Cous Coussier. The bag landed on a dining table. Akiko grinned and attempted to grab the first donut, but Haruto slapped her hand and picked one out before her. With the donut hand, he waved it around and said, "I expect compensation. These donuts aren't free." He pulled his hand back through the portal and closed it. As he bit into the donut, Shunpei asked, "Hey, Haruto, is it possible to use the Connect Ring as a means to get around?" He held his ring hand up and said, "Wanna be the first to test that theory?" Shunpei quickly shook his head and sipped his tea, which was hot, singeing his tongue. He then bit the donut to deter his mind from the pain. Haruto looked at his BIKE and said, "Besides, I like the scenic route." Garuda approached the three and began to screech. As they all looked up, it soared off in the direction of the trouble. Haruto finished his donut and placed a helmet on Koyomi's head, "Alright, we gotta go."

Kengo, a few blocks away from the strife, was in the middle of a phone call with Shotaro on Philip's progress. Unfortunately, there was no success so far, but he kept researching. Kengo paused for a minute and said, "I have a theory. Put me on speaker." Shotaro did so and sat the phone down. Kengo continued, "So here's my thought. Philip's currently researching the world's knowledge up until now. So what if he went to the future and researched? By logic, he would be able to uncover more knowledge." Philip closed his book and said, "That's a genius thought, Kengo-kun, however it might put a serious dent in our fortifications." Shotaro folded his arms and said, "He's right. We're two halves of one being. Without him, we'd be short a Rider. Not to mention that W is the one that saved everyone's asses that day." Kengo nodded and said, "That's true. Alright, we'll just leave that thought on the backburner for later, but for now we'll need W's aide." Shotaro replied, "Nothing we can't handle", and ended the call. Kengo closed his phone and slipped it in his pocket. The same pocket with that Switch. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it. It was completely black and transparent. There was no number on the label, just a dark star. Like a sun that was minutes from its end. His hand began to tremble as he stared at the Switch. More and more. The longer he stared, the harder his hand shook. Immediately, an image of Miu appeared in his head. He snapped out of it and took a deep breath. Breathing heavily, he looked back down at the Switch and slid it back into his pocket.

Haruto arrived at the fight scene and waved his hand across WizarDriver. "CONNECT, PLEASE." He pulled WizarSwordGun from the portal and began to shoot magical bullets around the area. They connected with the invisible grunts and stopped their cloaking ability. He then activated the transformation process. "SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN!" "Henshin." He flipped the visor on the Flame Dragon Ring down and waved it across his Driver. "FLAAAAAME DRAGON, PLEASE." He skipped past the basic form to make this battle move faster. After his transformation, he ran into the fray with the rest of the Riders. Fourze swapped from Fire States back to Base States and used the Water Switch. He soaked a wide area of grunts and then popped in the Freeze Switch. The next step was to freeze them all at once. After he had done so, Wizard slipped the Giant Ring onto his finger. Fourze switched out for GiantFoot. The final step was, well, a final step. Fourze stomped on a large group of frozen enemies while Wizard crushed them with his hand. Gemini and Libra knew they wouldn't be able to handle the onslaught that the Riders had brought, so they made their way out. They were stopped in their tracks, however by the dual-Rider, W. They pointed at the Zodiarts and said, "Your sins. Count 'em up." Libra charged at W with its staff and began to swing. Shotaro spoke, "So that's your game, huh?" He swapped out the Joker Memory for the Metal Memory. Philip swapped out Cyclone for Luna. "LUNA METAL." This gave the Metal Shaft flexibility and allowed it to stretch as well. Libra couldn't get an attack in, so it quickly retreated to Gemini, who tossed explosive cards all around the area and detonated them all. In the midst of the confusion, they escaped. Everyone powered down and looked around themselves. Buildings in a generally rural area now lay devastated by Gemini's antics. JK stepped out of his hiding spot to get a clearer view of the ruin, "Is THIS what they're planning? To destroy everything little by little?"

Meanwhile, at Dai-Shocker base, Kazari was up in arms at Great Leader's plan. "So you mean to tell me that your plan is to destroy everything little by little?" Kazu stepped in front of Kazari and said, "I'm sorry, is there an issue with Great Leader's plan?" Mezool stepped between them and said, "Let's listen to what the Great Leader has to say about this!" All eyes were now on Great Leader, who finally responded to Kazari, "Yes, that is my plan." Kazu smirked at Kazari and said, "Like I said." Kazari quickly snapped back, "Step off, Kazu!" He turned his attention back to Great Leader and said, "Look, I'm all for destroying everything, but what's the point of destroying everything if there won't be anything left to rule?" Great Leader turned to Kazari and replied, "That's just it, Kazari. With everything undone, I can rebuild a world that I see fit for ruling." Dr. Maki grinned at the thought of unraveling the world to usher in a new era. Kougami's face beamed with the thought of a new beginning to celebrate, "I should make another cake." He then excused himself. Uva watched Kougami in a disgusted manner as he exited the room. Kazu sneered at Kazari, who scowled back at him. Mezool spoke up, "There's no point in inner conflict, Kazari. Just let him writhe." Kazu chuckled and responded, "Yeah, listen to your girlfriend. Your actions are pointless." Uva eased off of the wall and said, "Who is this guy? I don't really like his cocky-ass tone." Great Leader held up his hand and said, "Enough, the lot of you." Kazu immediately turned to him and kneeled, "I deeply apologize, sir." Kazari scoffed and left the room, with the other Greeed following behind.

Kengo showed up to the aftermath of the Zodiarts attack holding BusaDriver in one hand and the Core Switch in the other. Shotaro approached him with an irritated look on his face, "Where were you, man? We could've probably had a different outcome from this!" Kengo gave him a confused look and replied, "I don't think me being here would've made a difference." Shotaro folded his arms and said, "Well, we'll never know now." Gentaro stepped between them both and said, "Uncool, guys. This is no time for head butting, we gotta regroup and plan again." Haruto nodded and said, "Everyone just cool down." Kengo replied, "I'm fine, but none of us will be if we don't plan better. We can cover more ground if our forces are spread out-" Yuusuke finished his sentence, "To include the Riders?" Kengo nodded and said, "I think we'd be fine with just us for right now. Satonaka-san and Eiji-san can continue getting Goto-san ready for battle. Afterwards, I'll run a few tests at Rabbit Hutch and get him out here with us." Ryuusei looked at Kengo and said, "You should probably check yourself out as well. You don't look too hot." Kengo scoffed and said, "I'm fine, no need to worry about me." Ryuusei's words were accurate, however. Kengo was not in his best form. He looked as if he had remembered a horrific past.

They had regrouped at Miu's mansion with Shun and Yuki. Haruto had stepped out to get Koyomi and Shunpei back to the antique shop where Rinko and Wajima were waiting. Shotaro was still a little upset that Kengo hadn't showed up earlier, but not so much as to keep a grudge. It was more along the lines that the outcome could've been different. Date put his hand on Goto's shoulder and asked, "So how's the training coming?" Goto looked at him and said, "Better than expected. I've been able to maintain form with multiple Core Medals per use, but for some reason the dino Medals' time window just won't expand for me. I can only use them for six minutes." Kengo looked at Eiji and said, "You have any ideas, Eiji-san?" Eiji shook his head and said, "I can use them just fine." Ankh remarked, "It's probably because you're useless to them." Hina looked at Ankh and spoke, "You can't make a judgment like that, Ankh!" Ankh scoffed and sat on the back of the sofa, "The one time I'm serious, no one wants to believe me." Eiji looked at Ankh and said, "It's probably because you never tell a straight answer. What do you mean by 'useless to them?'" Ankh looked at his hand and said, "I mean that they don't look at him as an actual Rider. The suit is manmade. What'd you expect?" Kengo spoke, "I can modify the belt, but modifying the Medals could potentially stop their abilities or worse. You're gonna have to work with the hands you were dealt, Goto-san." JK looked at Tomoko, who had fear on her face. JK put his hand on her shoulder and said, "What's up?" Tomoko then pointed at Kengo and said, "There's a crazy black aura coming from Kengo-san." Everyone laid eyes on him who then replied, "What are you talking about?" Shotaro stormed toward Kengo with a finger pointed at him, "I KNEW YOU WERE SUSPICIOUS!" Kengo gave him a distraught look, "What?" Shotaro stopped with his finger just short of Kengo's face and said, "You weren't there when everything went down." He removed his hat to dust it off and then continued, "You knew what was gonna happen and decided to opt out of the danger zone." Kengo stood up and said, "That's completely asinine, I was next to Gentaro until we split up. I called YOU and informed you of the danger! Why would an enemy do that?" JK nervously opinionated, "To attempt to wipe them out all at once?" Kengo turned to JK and said, "What's THAT supposed to mean?" JK spoke, "I don't know, it's just that you never showed." Kengo scoffed, "Yes, JK, I had plenty of time between then and when Miu called me to get to the Rabbit Hutch and run tests on Switches. It seems very logical." Shotaro jumped back in, "You're a new Rider. Who knows the full extent of the abilities better than you?" Miu quietly looked at him with concern on her face. Kengo responded back, "So you're saying there's some kind of hidden ability that I'm not sharing?" Gentaro ended the argument, "GUYS, CUT IT OUT! We're bros, not foes! Let's work this out like people and take out Dai-Shocker." Miu stood up with angst. "Kengo." Kengo turned to see Miu with worry on her face. "Not you too." Miu inhaled and then spoke, "I saw a white figure leave the area before everyone showed up. I don't wanna believe it was you so please, for me, tell us it wasn't you."

Before he could respond, the black Switch in his pocket began to react. The switch flew from his pocket and stopped just short of everyone's reach. Miu's eyes widened, "Is that?" Kengo finished her thought, "The Shade Switch!" The Switch force-activated the Busa Driver. The Driver attached itself to Kengo's waist. Eiji knew where this was heading. He jumped for the Driver, but the Switch was faster. As it clicked into place, the Driver responded with a low-toned, "SHADE." A dark pulse emanated from the Driver, blowing Eiji backwards into a small table. Hina ran over to him to help him up. Meanwhile, pitch-black energy began to swarm around the now frantic Kengo. Dropping to his feet and rising to the top of his head. Another, stronger, pulse wave flew out and shorted the lights. A small moment later, the crimson, spiked eyes began to glow from where Kengo stood. The lights flickered on and off, confusing everyone in the room. After regaining her bearings, Miu looked towards the red eyes to see a jet black figure. With every flicker, the image became more apparent. And with every flicker, it struck more fear into her. Black pauldrons with red stalactites. Black gloves with red stalagmites. Black boots with red stalagmites. Red stalagmites adorned the head. The suit was black with a faint, iridescent crimson tint. The maid activated the backup generator by this time, revealing the dark figure. It was Kamen Rider Hayabusa. Everyone took a step back. Hayabusa looked at his hands and closed them into fists. As the Rider looked towards the door and began to walk towards it, Ryuusei walked towards him and grabbed his arm. Hayabusa immediately broke free and slammed his fist into Ryuusei's chest, throwing him into Shotaro and Ryu. Date and Yuusuke attempted to restrain him, but Hayabusa tossed them with ease as well. Natsumi motioned toward him, but stopped as he glanced at her. Tomoko, at Ryuusei's side, said, "Kengo's in there, but that vile aura is clouding his judgment!" Gentaro kept a level head, "Kengo, I know you can hear me. I'll snap you outta this!" He slapped the Fourze Driver onto his waist and flipped the switches down. "3… 2… 1…" "HENSHIN!" After his transformation and calling card, he rocketed himself towards Hayabusa.

Haruto had arrived at Miu's house with a few new rings to show off. He walked up to the door but before he could get the second knock, Fourze and Hayabusa flew through the front door. They tumbled on the ground a few times before forcing each other off. Hayabusa spun to his feet and Fourze jumped to his. He switched out his Rocket Switch for Electric. He then plugged the Switch into Billy the Rod for a quick finisher. The attack was a direct hit, but it didn't even so much as scratch Hayabusa. Haruto stood up and activated WizarDriver. Fourze switched to Fire States and attempted another finisher. His attack was for naught. Hayabusa simply knocked the shot down in front of him. Haruto slipped Water Dragon Ring onto his finger. Fourze switched to Magnet States for another finisher, but that also failed. Hayabusa deflected the attack back at Fourze, and connected. Haruto waved his hand past the Driver and transformed into Wizard Water Dragon form. Fourze then swapped for Cosmic States. His energy was spent, but this was for his friend. He used Cosmic State's finisher. Everyone ran outside, but Yuki stopped when she saw Miu frozen in place. Yuki grabbed Miu's hands and said, "Don't worry. Gentaro will bring him back." Miu slowly looked at Yuki and nodded. As the portal opened behind Hayabusa, Gentaro charged at him. To no avail, Hayabusa stopped him midflight. Fourze however wasn't done. He pushed the booster on his back to max output and nudged Hayabusa back. Wizard used his special, Dragon Freeze Whip, to help propel Fourze and Hayabusa through the hole.

Fourze was now in position to strike. He removed and reinserted the Cosmic Switch into Barizun Sword. As he pulled the lever back, he spoke, "Kengo. I won't leave you. WE won't leave you. Even if your goal WAS to bring destruction to the world, you're still my best bud. No way in hell I'm givin' that up!" He wound back and yelled, "RIDER SUPER GALAXY FINISH!" Hayabusa began to block it, but remnants of Kengo shone through the darkness as Hayabusa held back the action. Fourze slashed Hayabusa, ending the immediate threat and putting Kengo into an unconscious state.

Fourze returned to Earth with the battle-ridden Kengo in his arms and upon powering down, dropped to a knee. Shun ran to the two and placed his hand on Gentaro's shoulder to stabilize him. Gentaro looked up at Shun, who looked at him and gave him his signature smile. Everyone then ran over to help their friends. Miu, out of confusion of what her boyfriend went through, began to cry. Back inside, Hina brought drinks from the kitchen for Gentaro and Kengo. Gentaro picked one of the cups up and guzzled the beverage. He then reached for the other one, but Hina halted him, "That one's for Kengo-kun." Gentaro looked at his friend and said, "He's actually unconscious, so I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind me taking his drink." He then picked up the drink and drank it slower. Ryuusei scratched his head and said, "It'd be easier to handle if he was just tired. There's no telling how long he'll be out due to the strain on him from that ordeal." At this point in time, the team was at a loss.


	6. Dark Times And Who is THIS Guy!

Everyone sat still out of not knowing where to go from now. Kengo raged out and attacked everyone, so Gentaro was forced to incapacitate him out of desperate measures. Yuusuke spoke up, "Does anyone have an idea of how long he'll be this way?" Ryuusei scratched his head and said, "It'd be easier to handle if he was just tired. There's no telling how long he'll be out due to the strain on him from that ordeal." Just then, a familiar voice rung out, "I think I can help out in this case." Everyone turned to see Daiki step out of his world travel portal. Following behind him was a face very familiar to the KRC. Gentaro's face brightened after seeing her face. "NADESHIKO!" She looked at Gentaro and grinned. Next to step out was Kamen Rider Aqua. Eiji and Hina smiled in relief knowing that Michal was doing okay in his time. Every Rider from Blade's world and Faiz's world, as well as Riderman, Ichigo, X, and Amazon stepped out of the portal as well. Miu's living room is big, but not big enough for the other half of history's heroes. Upon hearing an extremely familiar train whistle, Shotaro broke out in anger, "OH HELL NO!" Out of Daiki's world travel portal jumped the lovable, red Imagin Momotaros, "Ore… Sa-" Shotaro interrupted him, "Shut up, coffee thief!" Momotaros dropped his arms and looked at Shotaro. "You're still on that? It was years ago!" Shotaro shouted, "It doesn't count when you can time travel. It happened a few months back to me!" Momotaros got in his face, "STOP LIVING IN THE PAST!" Shotaro snapped back, "SAYS THE MONSTER LIVING IN THE PAST!" Ryutaro stepped between the two, "Guys, please! Can we get back on track here?" After calming the two down, he looked around and said, "So do you think it'd be possible to take him backwards in time and then bring him back when he wakes up?" Philip closed his World Book and said, "By theory, yes. It'd be like his comatose state happened already if that were the case." Momotaros stretched and said, "I got this, guys. Nothin' a little body jumping can't solve."

Before Ryutaro could stop him, Momotaros jumped into Kengo's incapacitated body and sat up. Kengo's hair stood spiked up with a red streak in it. His eyes were red as well. He looked around and stood up, "See? Nothin' to wor-" He was immediately ejected from Kengo's body by an unknown force. Landing on top of Kintaros, he sat up and said, "What the hell?" Kengo fell back onto the couch. Urataros spoke, "You didn't do it right. You can't just force your way. Make them comfortable." He then leaned over Kengo and asked, "Mind if I reel you in?" After uttering his question, he jumped into Kengo's body. Kengo's hair was now slicked back with a stray, blue bang hanging down the right side of his forehead. He opened his now blue eyes and smiled at Momotaros, "Like I said, ease you wa-" Urataros was then ejected from Kengo's body. As Momotaros stood up, Urataros landed on him. He sat up and said, "Something just threw me out!" Momotaros spoke, "Me too!" Gentaro scratched his head and said, "This is going nowhere no time fast." Kintaros cracked his neck and said, "There's no force I can't make cry!" He jumped into Kengo's body before it hit the ground and caught himself. Kengo's face was stern as Kintaros stood up, with his hair tied back and a yellow streak along the right side of his bangs. As he grinned, he put a foot on Miu's table and flexed an arm, "Ha! Bested by me, Force-kun!" With that, Kintaros was ejected onto Momotaros and Urataros. He sat up and crossed his legs and arms, "A lot more difficult than I thought…" Momotaros struggled under the two, "Get offa me, dammit!" Ryuuta jumped over the Imagin pile and said, "My turn! My turn!" Miu stood up and said, "Stop it! Stop possessing him! He's my boyfriend, not some science experiment!" Ryuuta stopped and looked at her. After a few seconds, he childishly responded, "Sorry! Can't hear ya!" and jumped into Kengo's body. Kengo's hair became bedridden as a purple curl hung down from it. He sneered with purple eyes and began to breakdance where he stood. Gentaro smirked and said, "That looks cool!" He began to breakdance in sequence with Kengo. Nadeshiko imitated Gentaro and joined in in a feminine manner. Miu shouted, "GENTARO!" Breaking his focus, Gentaro fell on top of Kengo, ultimately ejecting Ryuuta from Kengo's body and landing him on top of the Imagin pile.

Gentaro got off of Kengo and said, "Sorry, Miu. It just kind of captivated me." Haruto raised his hand, "Not gonna lie, I almost jumped in myself." Over at the antique shop, Koyomi, Rinko, and Shunpei toppled over after hearing Haruto's words from Koyomi's crystal ball. Back at Miu's mansion, Ryutaro spoke, "Okay, seeing as THAT plan failed…" Just then, Deneb cut in, "W-wait! I think if we talked to Force-kun, it would be reasonable!" Yuuto pushed himself off the wall and unfolded his arms, "Deneb, it doesn't work that way. If there's something in him keeping him from being possessed, there's no reason for you to try." Ryutaro continued his thought, "How about we go with the original plan and see how it goes?" Miu stepped up, "I'm going too. Gentaro, you're in charge." Shotaro removed his fedora to dust it and said, "He's half-boiled, Miu-chan. Leave the job to a hard-boiled person." Miu nodded and said, "You're right, Shotaro." She then pointed to Ryuusei and said, "YOU'RE in charge." Ryutaro spoke up, "If this plan works, you won't have to worry about that, Miu-chan. Literally, a second will have passed to them." Kintaros picked Kengo up and walked to a door that Ryutaro opened to the Den-Liner. Momotaros, Urataros, Ryuuta, Kintaros, and Miu stepped into the door. Ryutaro looked back and said, "We'll be back in a second." He stepped through the door and closed it. A few seconds later, the door opened back up and out stepped the Imagin followed by Ryutaro and Miu holding the conscious Kengo's hand.

Everyone let out sighs of relief. Gentaro fist pumped, "HELL YEAH! Good idea, Ryutaro!" Haruto spoke up, "Wait, how long was he out on your end?" Momotaros responded, "Too damn long." Ryutaro followed up, "About two and a half weeks." Everyone's eyes widened. Shotaro walked up to Kengo and put his hand on his shoulder, "Glad you're not dead. I didn't mean to accuse you of any foul play, I was just frustrated at the situation." Kengo nodded and replied, "It couldn't be helped. Speaking of frustration, that Switch that activated…" Eiji spoke, "That moment was all too familiar to me. The dino Core Medals did the exact same thing to me. But Hina-chan was able to break the hold it had on me." Miu looked at Hina and said, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you do it?" Hina replied, "Well, I just ran up to him and hugged him. I let him know that we love him and that I wouldn't allow him to fall prey to the Core Medals' grip." Miu looked at Kengo, who looked back at her and said, "If I ever go crazy, I don't want you to attempt that idea. I'd rather you not get hurt by my hands." Miu wrapped her arms around him and said, "No promises." He let out a sigh of reassurance, knowing that she'd do it anyway. Daiki spoke up, "Okay, I did my part of the work. Now we gotta wait on Tsukasa-kun." Kengo looked at Ryuusei and said, "Okay, Ryuusei. Here's where I'd need your aide." Ryuusei looked back at him and replied, "Rabbit Hutch?" Kengo nodded and said, "Rabbit Hutch." He then looked at Goto and said, "If you're up for it, I'd like you to help Ryuusei out." Erika responded, "We'll both go. We can get more wrinkles ironed out that way." Goto nodded and said, "True." Miu hugged him tighter and said, "I'm going. And you aren't stopping me." Before Kengo could respond, she pointed to Gentaro and said, "You're in charge." Daiki replied, "I appreciate you delegating charge to me. I won't let you down." As the group left Miu's mansion, Yuki spoke up, "I noticed something. Every time we've seen our sempais show up for a righteous cause, they never power down." Ichigo stepped up and held his hand up to her, "No. If you saw our faces…" They looked around out of fear. Ichigo laughed and said, "Nothing would happen." They powered down to reveal their faces to the rest of the group.

Over at the Rabbit Hutch, Miu and Ryuusei placed sensors on Kengo while Goto hooked ReBirth Driver to some cords. Erika started to run tests on ReBirth Driver as Goto stepped out of the testing room. Ryuusei asked, "So what are we looking for?" Kengo spoke, "Any abnormalities, especially energy spikes. I wanna know if there's anything out of order." Ryuusei said to Miu, "You heard the man." She nodded and flipped the switch. Upon doing so, the machine began to malfunction. Ryuusei quickly shielded Miu as the machine exploded. The force pushed Goto and Erika back as well. Kengo saw what happened and snatched the wires off of him to assist. Goto and Erika stood up as Kengo helped Ryuusei and Miu stand up. Miu was also fine, but Ryuusei caught shards of metal in his back and left arm. Luckily, Ryuusei was a lot tougher than he let on. Erika followed behind Goto, who walked up to the three and asked, "What just happened?" Ryuusei grabbed a medical kit and said, "Before the screen exploded on us, I managed to get a glimpse of the readings. I don't know how much it'll help, but there were dark cosmic energy readings. It looked like they overshadowed your normal readings." Kengo folded his arms and said, "That sounds like it would be important, but we can't get a definite answer on that. We'd need a stronger system." Goto looked at Erika, who nodded, and said, "I know where we can get a stronger system."

Meanwhile, at Dai-Shocker base, Great Leader implemented phase two of his plan. He relayed the message amongst his soldiers, "We have successfully recreated you all. Dopants. Zodiarts. Greeed. Not only have we recreated you, we have also implemented the ability for you all to "recruit" humans for our cause. Dopants have inherited the ability to create Gaia Memory as Greeed can create Yummy. The same goes for Zodiarts with Zodiarts Switches." Kazu wiped his mouth with a napkin and piped up, "You hear that, Kazari? You have a use after all!" Kazari, with a stoic expression on his face, motioned through the crowd, up to the Great Leader's stage, and kicked the table with the cake on it over. Kazu dropped his fork at this action and stood up. "If you have an issue with me, don't take your anger out on harmless cake." Kazari cracked his knuckles and said, "Don't tempt me." In that instance, Uva, Mezool, and Gamel stepped onto the stage as well. Great Leader held his hand up to the strife and said, "ENOUGH. We can't have internal conflict in our organization. Even without the smallest gear, the engine would not work, Kazu." Kazu looked at Great Leader and bowed his head. His words, however, rubbed Kazari the wrong way. He stepped up to the Great Leader and said, "You callin' us the smallest gears, old man?" Mezool knew this was a bad idea. Great Leader cackled and said to her, "Fear not, my dear. Even the smallest gears make a machine run." Kazari replied, "I'm tired of your 'smallest gears' crap, old man!" Great Leader slowly looked at Kazari and said, "It seems this gear is cracked." Before Kazari could react, Great Leader had a finger to his chest. He smirked and spoke, "It's time for a replacement." A pulse came from Great Leader's finger, pushing Kazari clean across the room and into a wall. Everyone marveled at Great Leader's simple, yet omnipotent ability. As Great Leader dropped his hand, Kazari hit the ground. His Core Medals rolled out of his body, cracked and shattered into pieces. Mezool rushed through the crowd to Kazari. Gamel followed behind Mezool, but Uva was frozen in terror at what just happened. She tried to help him to his feet, but his body seemed lifeless and heavy. In an instant, his body turned into Cell Medals and fell apart. Mezool's eyes widened at what happened before her. Her blood-curdling scream rung throughout the base. Great Leader spoke, "Fret not, dear child. I shall create at better version of him. One that will not defy me more than nonce." Mezool, with tears of angst rolling down her face, replied, "But I want THIS Kazari! Bring this Kazari back!" Great Leader placed his hands behind his back and said, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I cannot bring back THAT Kazari." This was a blatant lie, but Mezool didn't know that. She tightly gripped Kazari's broken Core Medals as she wept over her comrade. Kougami folded his arms and said, "If there's going to be another Kazari, I should bake another cake." Kazu looked at Kougami and said, "I'd like a slice of that cake when you have finished it, please."

Outside of Kougami Corporation, Ryuusei, Kengo, Miu, Goto, and Erika, along with a few other members, stood in front of the building. Goto looked up at the building and began to speak, "Alright, team, our mission is to get access to this building's lab system. It's got enough power to run tests on Kengo." JK slowly raised his hand and spoke, "Don't you have access to this building? I mean, you DO technically work here." Goto continued to look up at the building. After a few seconds, he looked at the door and said, "Everyone follow me." As he walked up to the door, Erika snickered at his epic moment gone to waste. As they walked through the halls, Tomoko looked at Ryuusei and said, "There's something odd about you right now." He looked back and said, "Oh, I got my hair trimmed. You like it?" Tomoko shook her head and said, "No, like… You look like you're in pain." Ryuusei grinned and said, "I'm fine. You sure YOU'RE okay?" She quietly nodded, knowing it was a lie. They arrived at the lab and Goto spoke up, "Okay, Kengo, that's the area you're gonna be in." Momotaros asked, "So why am I here again?" Goto replied, "You're gonna possess Kengo again." Momotaros got in his face and said, "Ohhh, so you wanna laugh at me, buddy? I'll give you somethin' to laugh about!" Before he could land a hit on Goto, Erika swept him off his feet and put him in a submission. "Touching my boyfriend is like playing with my salary, it's one of the dumbest moves you could ever make in your life." She let go of Momotaros and stepped back. Momotaros curled up into a ball and said, "S-she's like Hana-chan…" Ryuusei stepped in front of the computer screen and said, "Momotaros, this is for extensive testing on Kengo. We need to know what ejected you from him." Momotaros immediately stood up and said, "Well speak up next time!" Miu placed sensors on Kengo in the testing area. She looked him in the eyes and said, "Fingers crossed?" Kengo nodded and said, "Of course." She kissed him on the lips and stepped out of the test area. Ryuusei took the cue to activate the system.

The screen showed exactly what he saw before, dark cosmic energy overwhelming Kengo's standard cosmic energy. Miu looked at the screen and said, "So this is what you meant?" Ryuusei nodded and said, "The dark cosmic energy is more than likely from the Switch that auto-activated itself. Which reminds me, where IS that Switch, Kengo?" Tomoko took a good look at Kengo and exclaimed, "He's absorbed it!" JK looked at Ryuusei and said, "That's probably why Momo-kun was forced out of him!" Momotaros looked up and said, "That's my cue?! Alright, showtime!" Before someone could stop him, he jumped into Kengo's body. Ryuusei looked back at the screen and said, "Guys, look!" A red field of energy appeared on the monitor. The dark cosmic energy immediately overwhelmed it and cast it aside, ejecting Momotaros from Kengo once again. Momotaros sat up and said, "That's it, I'm done with this! I'm going back! I'm getting tossed around like a ragdoll, and no one's helping…" He continued to rant on his way out the door. Ryuusei spoke, "I don't get it. It seems like it's dormant, but there hasn't even been ONE energy spike yet." Goto paused for a second and said, "Kengo, how are you feeling right now?" Kengo replied, "I feel fine." Goto responded, "Not anymore." Before Kengo could finish his thought, Goto pressed a button, sending 500 volts of electricity through Kengo. Kengo stopped shaking and yelled, "What the hell are you doing?" Goto replied, "Be quiet and pay attention." He pressed the button again, sending another 500 volts to Kengo. Ryuusei looked at the monitor and said, "I see what you're doing. His stress levels determine the Switch's dormancy." Goto let go of the button and said, "Exactly." Ryuusei nodded and said, "Now we have a better idea of the situation." Kengo yelled, "So potentially killing me was the only way to do it?" Ryuusei brushed him off, "Oh hush, you're a sample." Miu yelled at him, "What are you doing, Ryuusei?!" Kengo responded, "I'm still a life form!" JK chimed in, "By the way, how WAS your trip to the Presenter?" Miu shoved him and said, "Why would you go there?! We already know what the issue is!" Ryuusei pointed to the screen and said, "Watch." Miu reluctantly looked at the screen.

Dark cosmic energy began to swarm over Kengo's cosmic energy and began to go wild. Tomoko looked at Kengo and said, "There's that aura again." Ryuusei looked at Kengo and said, "Dude, you need to calm down! We were testing your stress level. When you get anxious, the dark cosmic energy reacts to it and gets stronger! You gotta focus!" Kengo heard Ryuusei, but couldn't control himself hard enough to relax again. Miu yelled to him, "Kengo, listen! It's me! You have to come back to us! Come back to ME, KENGO!" Upon hearing her voice, he caught a peace of mind and began to gather his wits again. Everyone let out sighs of relief. Kengo dropped to a knee and Miu ran to the test area. Goto stopped her, "Wait, it's not safe yet! Give it a few minutes to calm down!" Miu struggled to get past him, "Someone needs to help him!" Erika placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "I know how you feel, but just calm down. You opening that door right now would only cause more casualties." She looked at Kengo, who looked back up at her, smirked, and gave her a thumbs up. She sighed and said, "Fine. I'm cool." Erika wrapped her arm around Miu's and said, "Come on, we'll go get some snacks for him." Kengo lied down on the floor and said, "No more tests, please." Everyone laughed at his words, even though he was serious. Ryuusei's smile faded when he looked at the screen again. He waited for Miu and Erika to leave the room before speaking. "Damn, this doesn't look good." JK looked at the screen and asked, "Where's the rest of Kengo-kun's cosmic energy?" Tomoko peered at Kengo and said, "It's like it's fading or something!" Goto looked at the screen and said, "It diminished!" Ryuusei spoke, "Shit! The dark cosmic energy's bigger!" JK asked, "So his life depletes while the Switch gets stronger? Is it absorbing him?!" Ryuusei responded, "It seems like it only happens when the Switch activates itself." JK asked another question, "So he's like the Incredible Hulk?" Goto slowly turned towards JK, "The Incredible WHAT?" Ryuusei cut in, "Basically, he has to stay calm or he'll go berserk." JK made a pun off of Ryuusei's words, "You wouldn't like him when he's angry." Ryuusei snickered, and quickly regained his composure. "Listen, Goto-san, you can tell Satonaka-san, but make sure Miu doesn't find out. It'd crush her knowing that he could potentially die if he gets angry." JK made another pun, "You wouldn't like him when he's dead." Both Ryuusei and Tomoko giggled at his joke.

Erika and Miu stepped back in the room. Ryuusei quickly turned the monitor off and said, "We got enough data off of the tests we ran so far. The room should be clear now." Miu ran to the test area and opened the door. Goto spoke, "Now we gotta break this to everyone else. EVERYONE else." JK joked, "Thassa lotta esplainin' ta do~!" Goto, Ryuusei, and Tomoko all laughed. Ryuusei spoke up, "Enough, man, my sides hurt!" Tomoko pointed at him, "I knew something was wrong!" Ryuusei held his hands up to her and said, "In a metaphorical term, Tomoko! It's a figure of speech!" Tomoko scowled at him as he scratched his head sheepishly. Goto and Erika took ReBirth Driver to another area for testing. Miu rested Kengo's head on her lap and parted his hair from his face. "How're you feeling, hun?" Kengo shrugged and said, "You know that feeling you get when you attempt to fix a bowl of cereal, but the box of your favorite kind is empty?" She wiped the sweat from his face and nodded. He smirked and immediately replied, "Yeah, I feel like shit." She laughed at his response as he sipped from the can of tea she brought him.

Unbeknownst to them, Dr. Maki still had access to the lab area. The security cameras were on the whole time, giving Dai-Shocker the complete analysis of Kengo's condition. Libra used the Laplace Eye to analyze everyone that appeared on the screen. After taking a look at everyone, he spoke, "That child there. His body is swarming with cosmic energy. Not just any cosmic energy. It's as if it were negative cosmic energy." Sagittarius responded, "Hm? That is the one sent by the Presenter. His body housed the Core Switch, which he now uses to transform. But the negative cosmic energy…" He looked at Great Leader and said, "I think we can use that to our advantage." Great Leader leaned up in his throne, "Oh? Let me know what your plan is, Sagittarius." Sagittarius bowed and continued, "The Zodiarts strength will be doubled, tripled, even quadrupled if we can capture him." Kazu interlocked his fingers and placed his elbows on the long table, "But if it does persist as such, he could die. What use would he be then?" Sagittarius responded, "Aquarius has the ability to restore through cosmic energy. I don't see why it wouldn't work on cosmic energy directly." A cynical voice spoke up, "Prevent him from dying? That's torturous…! I love it." The figure stepped up to reveal the feline-form Kazari, reborn to follow Great Leader's orders. Kazu grinned at the new Kazari and replied, "That's good to hear."

In the Greeed's quarters, Mezool sat with Kazari's damaged Core Medals in her hand. Gamel didn't enjoy seeing Mezool cry, so he became upset as well, punching dents into the steel walls. Uva was still shook from Great Leader's power. Lost Ankh spoke, "He is powerful." Uva quickly responded, "You're damn right, he's powerful! Why would he do something so stupid?!" Gamel looked down and said, "Great Leader scary…" The subtle talk settled for a brief moment before Mezool spoke up, "Is this love?" The other Greeed turned to her as she continued, "Normally, one of our deaths wouldn't matter to the rest of us. But I want him back." She turned to Uva and said, "I want him back!" Uva looked away from her and Gamel looked down again. Lost Ankh replied, "We're all defective." They turned to him and heard him out. "Yes, we should fear him. For some reason or another, we can defy him. Even me." Uva asked, "So because we can defy him and the others can't, WE'RE the broken ones?" Dr. Maki entered the room, "Precisely." Everyone turned to him as he finished, "We were the first ones reborn. Great Leader needed our ability to generate Cell Medals so they can pass the trait to the other kaijin, but it required us to remain unaltered. We all continue to seek what we desire." Dr. Maki and his doll looked at Mezool, then down at Kazari's Medals. He spoke, "Great Leader lied about being able to restore Kazari. It IS possible." Everyone's eyes, except for Lost Ankh's, widened. Lost Ankh asked, "Your goal is to destroy, Dr. Maki. Why the sudden change in heart?" Dr. Maki replied, "Perceptive, as usual. In order to restore him, it would require the destruction of another Greeed's Core Medals." Lost Ankh responded, "There's that destruction I knew was in you." Mezool spoke up, "I'll do it." Gamel looked at her with worry, "Mezool…" Dr. Maki said to Gamel, "It won't completely destroy her. It'd be a trade. Core Medal for Core Medal." Mezool placed her hand on Gamel's cheek and smiled, "Don't worry, hun. I'll be fine."

Everyone arrived back at Miu's mansion with store-bought snacks and food. Miu didn't like to make her maid work too hard, so she would buy food occasionally. Gentaro was the first to stand up, "Welcome back, guys! Miu, your maid cooked for everyone." JK stumbled as he attempted to hold the snacks up. Miu spoke back, "OOPS! Well, I guess we'll save the snacks for later." Ichigo spoke up, "Fourze-kun explained all of the details to us. As allies of justice, we are definitely going to be here to defend our Earth." Blade then stood, "I have a question. When are we attacking? We've been here all day." Garren placed a hand on Blade's shoulder and said, "Patience, dear friend. Until then, we'll hone our skills." Kengo, Miu, Tomoko, and Goto walked to the kitchen to put the snacks away. Ryuusei took this time to explain what happened and Kengo's situation. Gentaro got riled up, "MY BUD! Damn, I wish we could do something!" Yuki sat and sulked, "Kengo-kun…" Ryuusei quickly responded, "Everyone keep your composure. Miu doesn't know and she shouldn't. It'd shatter her spirit if she knew her boyfriend was this close to knocking on Death's door." Haruto spoke up, "I could probably use Engage and destroy the Switch…" Just then, his phone rang. It was Koyomi. She spoke through the phone, "Haruto, that wouldn't work. Your abilities as a mage only vanquish unborn Phantoms that destroy someone's hope. Besides, he's not a Gate. You wouldn't be able to Engage." Another Rider spoke out, "I wonder if cosmic energy would work the same as mana for Chimera…" Everyone watched as he loaded his meal with mayonnaise before they all freaked from the new guy's sudden appearance.

Haruto replied, "Where did you come from, Mayonnaise?!" Koyomi spoke, "Shunpei told him where you were and the situation." Haruto sighed as the Rider stood up and began to rant, "My name's not Mayonnaise, it's Kosuke Nito!" He aimed his fist at Haruto to reveal a Wizard Ring with the face of a Lion on it, "Kamen Rider Beast!" Before Haruto could say anything, Kosuke cut him off, "No need to say any more, I won't kill an ally. I'll simply continue to eat Phantoms. It was just a thought." Haruto's phone slipped from his fingers as he marveled at Kosuke's thickheaded words. Kosuke picked up a fork and yelled, "It's lunchtime!"


	7. Ball is in Your Court, Dai-Shocker!

Mezool stood in Dai-Shocker's lab with Dr. Maki as he punched keys, activating the resurrection machine. He then turned to Mezool and said, "What I need for you to do is to place Kazari's broken Core Medals equal to however many you want to give up in the restoration pod with the Cell Medals in it." She looked at the broken Medals, then back up to the pod. She walked up to the pod and placed in six pieces, equal to three Core Medals. After doing so, Mezool walked back over to Dr. Maki and said, "Now what do I do with MY Core Medals?" He adjusted his glasses and pointed to an open canister connected to the resurrection chamber. She hesitated as she lifted her hand. After a few seconds of staring at her trembling hand, she forced it into her stomach, grabbing a head, arms, and leg Medal each. As she yanked them out, she wobbled to the floor and dropped them. Dr. Maki picked them up and placed them in the canister. Mezool watched his actions frame for frame as he closed the canister. She struggled up to the viewing window on the canister and took a good look at the Medals before Dr. Maki activated the resurrection process. Dr. Maki glanced at her and said, "You seem reluctant to do this." She shook her head and replied, "No. It's just the pain. I'm gonna do this for him." Dr. Maki nodded and pulled down a lever, initiating the process. The three Medals slowly dissolved into particles and traversed through the tubes connecting the canister and chamber. Kazari's Core Medals floated in the chamber as the Cell Medals swiveled around them. Mezool's dissolved Medals encased the broken Medals as the Cell Medals closed in on all of the Cell Medals. A blue flash came from the chamber, followed by a yellow flash. Mezool covered her eyes and Dr. Maki covered his doll's eyes. The flash subsided, cuing Dr. Maki to open the chamber. He shut the machine down and pressed a button, opening the chamber hatch. Smoke spilled from the bottom of the chamber as a foot stepped out. Mezool uncovered her eyes and widened them at the result of the process.

Later on that night, half of the heroes had fell asleep around Miu's mansion. There was definitely enough space for more people, she could run a business from out of her residence. She, however, was not in her room. She was, instead, out on the balcony with Kengo, Ryuusei, and Tomoko. Tomoko spoke, "That moon is beautiful." Ryuusei looked at her and smiled, "It comes nowhere near YOUR beauty." Tomoko became immediately flustered at Ryuusei's words. She stammered, "W-well… I… I don't know about that." Kengo and Miu smiled at her reaction. Ryuusei wrapped his arm around her, forgetting about his wounds. Her shoulder put pressure on his ribs where he took the shrapnel. He winced slightly, but it was still enough for Tomoko to notice. She looked up at him and said, "What's wrong?" Ryuusei grinned and said, "Nothing. Just a little chill down my spine. I don't normally express myself like this, so I'm a little nervous." Miu whispered in Kengo's ear, "Good cover." Kengo nodded and continued to watch the situation unfold. Ryuusei now knew that Tomoko's senses are sharper than even his. He would now either have to stay on his toes or come out and tell her about the incident. Though his situation wasn't as dire as Kengo's, he still didn't want Tomoko to worry. He looked at her innocent face and smiled, "I'm the luckiest guy in existence right now." Kengo immediately intervened, "Sorry, man, you're the second luckiest." Ryuusei looked at Kengo with competitive eyes and said, "I don't think you wanna bite off more than you can chew, buddy." Kengo wrapped his arms around Miu and pulled her close, "You can't handle us." Miu smiled and said, "You two got nothin' on us." Ryuusei kissed Tomoko on the cheek, making her face illuminate in the night. Kengo spoke, "That's cute…" and Miu finished his thought, "… But that's ALL that is." She wrapped her leg around Kengo's as he dipped her and planted kisses from her lips down her neck. Ryuusei raised his eyebrows and Tomoko widened her eyes. Kengo lifted Miu back up. She giggled and said, "You're such a STUD, Kengo!" Kengo chuckled and said, "I don't even know where that came from." Ryuusei bowed his head and said, "I concede defeat this once. We're new, so we have limits right now." Tomoko attached herself to Ryuusei's arm and sheepishly nodded. Kengo took a knee, worrying the others. Miu knelt down next to him and asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?" He looked at her and said, "Just tired." Ryuusei responded, "Today WAS eventful." Tomoko peered at Kengo and barely sensed his cosmic energy. She immediately spoke up, "We should get some rest. Especially you, Kengo. You went through a lot." Kengo nodded as Miu helped him stand up.

They reached the top of the main steps and went in opposite directions, bidding each other adieu. Ryuusei looked at Tomoko and asked, "Wait, are we in the same room?" Tomoko's eyes widened again as she stammered, "W-well, i-if you want…" Ryuusei responded, "No!" Disappointment fell on her face as he corrected himself, "W-what I meant to say was, uh, I wanted to respect your personal space." Tomoko gazed up at him with renewed hope in her eyes. Ryuusei placed his hands on her hips and replied, "Then we CAN share a room. It'd be a little weird…" She further dropped her hopes. Ryuusei took a deep breath and continued, "AT FIRST. It'd be a little weird at first, but we can sleep together. No problems." Tomoko finally spoke, "You don't have to force it, Ryuusei-san." He looked at her and said, "It's not that it's bad…" Tomoko smiled and finished his thought, "It's just too fast." Ryuusei nodded and smiled back. She grabbed his hands and said, "We'll place futons next to each other and take it slow." Ryuusei replied, "That'd be perfect for now." She lightly tugged his arms as they playfully continued down the hallway to their room. Meanwhile, in Miu's room, Kengo slipped into pajamas and sat on the bed next to Miu. She looked at his face and noticed the bags forming under his eyes. She then sat back against the headboard and called her boyfriend. He exhaled and said, "Not tonight. I'm way too tired to go a round." She smirked, tilted her head, and said, "I'm not that kind of girl, you pervert. Come here." He looked back at her as she tapped her thigh, indicating that she wanted him to lay on her lap. He awkwardly nodded and said, "Of course. Sorry about that." He crawled up to her and placed his head down on her lap. Miu began stroking his hair, parting it from his face. Being with her made Kengo forget about his worries as he drifted off to sleep, Miu softly petting his head. She may not have been a Kamen Rider like Erika or Natsumi, but she knew Kengo would fall apart without her. This made her content with being his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, downstairs with the others that were still awake, Shun played Go Fish with Yuki, Haruto, and Yuusuke. Gentaro and JK stared at Shun half-heartedly due to the fact that he had a poker face for a game of Go Fish. Unfortunately for him, Yuki's facial expressions surpassed even HIS poker face. Haruto's eyes shifted amongst the other players as he made his call, "Someone here has the four of spades." Yuki immediately shook her head and said, "I don't." Shun placed his cards down and folded his arms, smirking about his safety. Yuusuke scratched his head and said, "You were close, Haruto-kun. REALLY close. Now draw." Haruto sighed and drew a card, the queen of diamonds. This wasn't a card he needed, so he let out a long-drawn, "Moouuuu!" Yuki grinned at his gesture while JK snickered and Gentaro shook his head with disappointment. Now it was Shun's turn. He leaned forward and said, "I request that queen of diamonds you just drew, Haruto." Haruto's face twisted as he handed the card to Shun. Yuusuke chuckled and said, "Even though I'M not winning either, you're bombing pretty hard, Haruto-kun. How often do you play card games?" Haruto looked down and quietly said, "Shut up." Shun patted him on the back, "It's okay, Haruto. We can't be best at everything. We can only be the best at what we're best at." Haruto placed his cards down and said, "You're right. And I'm best at eating plain sugar and vanquishing kaijin." Gentaro spoke up, "We'd make a move, but we're pretty understaffed right now. We need to wait for Decade to get back." Daiki stood up and walked over to the conversation, "If we could use our phones through time periods, we could track him. Then again, he'd probably dodge the question." Natsumi, who had just slipped into her futon, thought to herself, _"Tsukasa-kun. He's probably goofing off right now…"_

Tsukasa sneezed beyond the ages. A young girl holding a trumpet walked up to him and said, "Are you catching a cold?" Tsukasa shook his head and said, "Someone's talking about me." He had finally rounded up the remaining Riders. Ibuki folded his arms and walked up to Tsukasa, "I can understand why I am needed, but why would you also drag Akira along? She doesn't want to be a part of this." Akira spoke up, "I know I'm ready for this, so I decided to come along. I'll train along the way." Sasword stepped up and said, "No need to worry, sir. I stand on the pinnacle of training along the way. And my best friend, Ka-GA-mi, shall help me!" Kagami sighed heavily and said, "See, if this wasn't a critical situation, I would not be here." Sasword followed up, "He's correct. We would be at my mansion enjoying delicious food! Right, Ka-GA-mi?" Kagami sighed and walked away from the conversation.

Tsukasa finally answered Ibuki's question, "There are some people I know that can create additional henshin devices. Akkan can use one of them." Akira became irritated at the nickname Tsukasa bestowed upon her and reacted, "Who are you calling Akkan? I'm technically your sempai!" Just then, Daisuke strolled over to her and leaned over his guitar-shaped makeup case, "Now now, a lovely lady such as yourself shouldn't be frowning." He took a closer look at her and continued, "It's my civic duty to keep pretty women such as yourself-" He was cut off by a man carrying a violin lined with fur, "Hey now, you'll never win a woman's heart that way! You have to put forth more of an effort to make her comfortable. Take notes, kouhai." The man picked up another girl's hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you." Before he could kiss her hand, he noticed her ring finger had a wedding band on it. As he slowly glanced up at her, he noticed her husband standing directly behind her. She replied to him, "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm taken." The man stepped out and wrapped his fingers around a fist-like device, punching his palm with it, throwing his arm out, and finally bringing it to his chest. The girl responded, "Yeah, Nago-kun can get a little defensive." Nago stumbled from her gesture and said, "Megumi, we're married. You don't have to call me Nago-kun."

A frail-looking man ran up and pulled the violinist away, "Dad, stop it! We're here to help, not make enemies." The man responded, "Wataru, you have to sometimes learn to be a man and stand up for yourself." He handed his violin to Wataru and rolled his sleeves up. Megumi looked at Wataru and asked, "He's your dad?" Wataru timidly nodded and said, "Sorry." Nago raised Ixa Knuckle up at his father as he looked at Wataru and said, "Kurenai Otoya. I will spare you the life God lent you if you stop hitting on my wife!" Daisuke laughed and finally spoke, "Yes, that's EXACTLY how it works!" Kagami walked up to Tsukasa and said, "Remind me again why we need all of these people." Tsukasa folded his arms and said, "Actually, I don't need any of you now." They all looked at him for an explanation. He continued, "Everyone here is destined to fail in this upcoming mission." Sasword stepped up and said, "If we're destined to fail, I'll stand on the pinnacle!" Everyone looked at him in silence. Tsukasa lightly inhaled, turned back to Kagami, and continued, "When you guys can learn why, I'll be back for you." He opened a portal and let it fall over him, carrying him back to Miu's mansion. Kagami exclaimed, "OI?! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET BACK HOME?!"

Tsukasa stepped through the portal that opened in the main room. Gentaro looked at him and spoke, "Decade, you're back." Natsumi immediately sat up when she heard his name. JK looked behind him and asked, "So where are the others?" Tsukasa looked behind himself and said, "Yeah, I left them." Daiki scoffed and said, "The objective was to come back WITH your half of the roundup." Tsukasa nodded and said, "I know. They were butting heads. All of that noise would probably wake people up." Natsumi stood up and said, "I'M about to make a lot of noise if you don't get them!" Gentaro and JK motioned her to keep quiet. Tsukasa slid his hands into his jacket and said, "I can't yet. They have to learn to cooperate." "'Cooperate' HOW?" asked Yuusuke. Tsukasa sat on the couch and crossed his left leg over the right, "Too much inner-conflict. I told them that I'd be back when they learn to work together." Everyone looked at HIM in silence this time. He quickly caught on to the gesture and said, "I should've given some kind of prerequisite." He stood up and said, "I'll be right back." As he stepped back through the portal, Goto and Date came running into the main room. Everyone awake had stood up. Date grinned and said, "Showtime, guys." Haruto pointed at him and said, "HEY!" Goto spoke, "There's activity in the downtown area. A lot of activity." Yuki saluted and said, "JK and I will go gather everyone upstairs." She and JK then darted off. Shun gave his signature salute and said, "I'll rev up Powerdizer." Goto and Date began waking everyone downstairs up and explained the situation to them.

JK came to Miu's room and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Miu came to the door in a pink nightgown. JK began his words, but then looked Miu up and down and said, "Lucky Kengo." Miu tilted her head and replied, "I'll take that as a compliment." JK jumped back on track, "Oh yeah! There's activity downtown. A LOT of it." Miu looked back at Kengo, who was still asleep. "I understand the situation we're in, but he needs his rest. He went through a lot today." JK replied, "I hear ya… Tell you what, I'll go get the okay for him to stay behind from Date-san and Goto-san." Miu smiled and said, "Thank you, JK." Yuki, Ryuusei, Tomoko, and Shotaro ran past JK and Miu. Yuki stopped by the door and said, "Kengo-kun, hurry up!" Miu and JK shushed her, but to no avail. Kengo slowly stirred awake and turned toward the door. "What?" As he pulled the cover from over himself, Miu quickly scuttled back to her bed and pulled the cover back over him, "Nothing, sweetie. They're just trying out a routine they just came up with. You can go back to sleep." He nodded and drifted back off to sleep after Miu kissed his forehead. JK placed his decorated finger over Yuki's lips and softly said, "Don't worry about Kengo. I'm gonna get permission from Goto-san to let him sleep off his fatigue." Yuki nodded and whispered, "Oh. Sorry, Kengo-kun!" She continued to follow behind the others as JK ran in the opposite direction. Miu quietly closed her door and leaned against it, "I love those guys to death, but they're a real handful sometimes."

Meanwhile, in the downtown area, Libra scanned for constellations from all of the people. He relayed the findings to Virgo, who would then pass the word on to the other Zodiarts. As for everyone who had no constellation, Dopants threw a Memory at each individual, force activating the device and turning the people into Dopants. The new Kazari, along with Uva, Gamel, Lost Ankh, and Dr. Maki, chucked Cell Medals at anyone they could, forcing their strongest desire out in the form of a Yummy. Sagittarius summoned Dustards to assist in the terrorizing of the area. Before one of the Zodiarts could attack a passerby, a blue meteor rained down on them. The kaijin looked at Meteor as he stood up and swiped his thumb across his faceplate, "I'll decide your fate." A few Zodiarts came at Meteor, which was a bad idea. He took his signature pose and let his voice be heard, "Woooo…" With every hit, he sounded off, "WHA! WHACHAA! HOOWACHAA!" In the distance, Fourze's voice rung from a rooftop, "LET'S SETTLE THIS MAN TO MAN!" In place of Drill Switch was Giant Foot. The giant foot stomped down on a general area of Dustards, crushing them instantly. Before he could hit the ground, he swapped Giant Foot for Board. He then surfed down the wall of a nearby building and slid onto the ground, knocking enemies over. Nadeshiko showed up onto the scene and did her girly impression of Fourze's pose. As she did so, she piped up, "KITAAA~!" Grunt kaijin attacked, but were no match for her cute fighting style. She avoided every attack that came at her as she took them down one by one. Another voice sounded off, "CONNECT, PLEASE!" "COPY, PLEASE!" Mana-infused bullets began to fall over the area. Wizard called off, "It's Showtime" and replaced the Fire Ring on his finger with Land Ring. As he jumped off the building, he swiped it across his Driver. "LAND, PLEASE! DO-DO-DO DO-DO-DON, DON DO-DO-DON!" Changing to his earth-based form, he landed on the ground and shook the area around him. This threw a crowd of enemies into the air. Another voice went off, "SIX! FALCO SABER STRIKE!" Beast's special attack flew through the aired enemies and destroyed them. Because they weren't magic-based kaijin, there was no mana to devour. Beast dropped into an Indian-seated position and scratched his head, "Where's the mana?! It's not lunchtime…"

Before the other kaijin could react, a yellow flash zipped through them. The flash followed up four more times before stopping in front of Kazari. OOO looked up at the feline Greeed and said, "For the sake of this world, I'll defeat you!" before kicking off of him. He then swapped Lion and Tora Medals for Taka and Gorilla. As the OOO Scanner slid across the belt, it registered the combo and sounded off, "TAKA! GORILLA! CHEETAH!" OOO sped toward Kazari and punched him with tremendous strength, sending Kazari into a wall. OOO then swapped Gorilla and Cheetah for Kujaku and Condor. "TAKA! KUJAKU! CONDOR! TA-JA-DORU~!" OOO brought flames to another group of kaijin. Some of the enemies just escaped the blast radius, but fell victim to Birth's Crane Arm and Birth Prototype's Drill Arm. ReBirth flipped over them both and dropkicked one of the Yummy. He then stood up and said, "Let me borrow Unagi!" Ankh scoffed and tossed the blue Medal to ReBirth. He slid it into ReBirth Driver and cranked the knob. As it sounded off, "UNAGI!", whips sprouted from ReBirth's arms. Birth and Birth Prototype unleashed a slew of Cell Medals upon the kaijin while ReBirth swung the whips at the stunned enemies one by one. Just then, another salvo curved towards a group of kaijin. W switched the Trigger Magnum to the right hand and pointed with the left, "Now, count up your sins." A Dopant charged at them with full force, but fell short to W's curved bullets. They then pulled out Luna and Trigger and inserted Cyclone and Joker, sounding off the Driver, "CYCLONE! JOKA!" Xtreme Memory railed itself onto the W Driver and activated itself. W then pulled themselves apart, revealing their core. They cut down a wave of Dopant with Prism Bicker before Philip's half spoke, "They seem to fall easier than before." Accel rode up, "It's probably due to them being products of replicas, they're weaker." W hopped onto Accel as Shotaro's half spoke, "Well let's not let this opportunity go to waste." Accel rode through a group of kaijin as W jousted any that were still standing.

Diend activated Ixa, Gatack, and Ryuga's Rider Cards and summoned them to fight as well. He then spoke up, "Without a world, there are no treasures to snatch. Have fun, boys." The summoned Riders made their way to the remaining kaijin. Kivala struck down a group of kaijin outside the general area where they were being spawned with Kuuga. He activated his Titan Form and grabbed a hold of his bike handle, creating Titan Sword. Kivala brought Kivala Saber to her chest and sprouted energy-based wings. She then extended her sword arm in a fencing pose and shouted, "SONIC STAB!" This enabled her to easily topple a row of enemies. Needless to say, Kuuga shouted out, "CALAMITY TITAN!" and impaled Dopants and Dustards. His attack blew holes through the kaijin. Ryuki and the other knight Riders jumped from the Mirror World to help wear enemy forces down. Blade, Garren, Chalice, and Leangle backed against each other, luring numerous grunt kaijin to surround them. Leangle joked, "Glad they aren't Darkroaches." Garren followed up, "Don't jinx this. We can do without them right now." "Regardless to what they may be, we must protect this world we love."

Blade spoke last, "Don't worry, Chalice. We won't fail in our mission, no matter how difficult it gets" and slid two cards through Blay Rouser, making it sound off, "KICK. THUNDER. LIGHTNING BLAST." Garren slid two cards through Garren Rouser, "DROP. FIRE. BURNING SMASH." Chalice ran two cards through Chalice Arrow, "CHOP. TORNADO. SPINNING WAVE." Leangle used two cards on Leangle Rouser, "BITE. BLIZZARD. BLIZZARD CRUSH." The four card-Riders unleashed their fury on the surrounding enemies and dropped them all at once. Ichigo yelled out, "RIDER JUMP!" Kaijin watched as he took to the skies and noticed Riderman atop a roof. He aimed his right arm at the kaijin, shouted, "NET ARM!" and launched a net upon a group of kaijin. Ichigo came back down and followed behind Riderman's initiative, "RIDER KICK!" His foot dropped on the netted enemies. X struck down Dopants and Zodiarts in a stand-alone way with Ridol. Noticing a small group of Yummy and Dustards rushing towards him, he pressed the L-Button on Ridol and activated Longpole-mode. He then vaulted over the group and pressed the H-Button, initiating Ridol Whip. From above, X slashed them down. The increased number of kaijin that were forcefully made thinned out drastically from the appearance of the Riders.

Seeing the once large army's numbers trickle down, the original resurrected enemies began to fall back. Zodiarts began to flee as well, but were stopped in their tracks by the tremendous force of Powerdizer. Shun gave his signature salute and said, "Can't forget about me!" Beast pointed at Powerdizer and looked at Wizard, "Who's that?" Shun easily trucked through the remaining enemies, generally Yummy. Tomoko and JK hung back with Burgermeal. Yuki contacted Miu and whispered through the phone, "No worries! We've handled the situation. JK and Tomoko are recording the battle." Miu let out a sigh and whispered back, "I'm glad he didn't have to go. Alright, I'm gonna hang up now but keep me updated if anything happens." Yuki responded, "Roger!" and ended the call.

While the fray was afoot, at Dai-Shocker's base, Kazu spoke with Great Leader, "Lord, we can go forward with our plan now. It's perfect timing." Great Leader nodded and said, "Yes, this would be good timing. Contact Kazari and have him implement the plan." Kazu bowed and left the room. As he walked down a hallway, he dropped his clipboard to the sight of who stood before him. Mezool was supporting the original Kazari as he walked. Kazu picked up his clipboard and said, "You should be dead." The two froze in their tracks. Kazari looked up at Kazu and replied, "What?" Kazu brought his hands behind his back and spoke, "Great Leader destroyed you. Everyone saw it." Kazari looked at Kazu in silence for a brief second before speaking, "Oh, you mean THAT time? He told me about that failure. I'm the copy. Mezool and I fled the scene because things got hairy." Mezool nodded and said, "OOO is stronger than he was when we last fought him." Kazu looked at them both and said, "Oh. Okay. Kazari, we have another assignment for you. You are to go and get the kid." Kazari smirked and gave him a thumb up. Kazu continued down the hallway. Mezool thought to herself, "Classic Kazari" and smirked as she assisted him down the hallway. As Kazu walked down the hallway, he came across Kazari in feline-form with the other Greeed. Kazari looked at him and said, "So things didn't go as planned. We DID create numerous forces, but they're pretty weak." Kazu immediately caught on to the situation and said, "As I thought. The fake Kazari has been revived! What differentiates the two is one of them has a blue eye and blue streak in their hair. The one I just passed was an imposter and he had an accomplice! Kazari, go forward with the plan to kidnap the Core Rider!" By the time everyone realized it, Kazari and Mezool had already escaped the base. Kazari took a knee behind a boulder, out of sight. He looked up at Mezool and said, "You didn't have to revive me, but you did it anyway. That's not very Greeed-like." Mezool came out and immediately said, "My greatest human desire is love. I felt it whenever I'm near you." Kazari kept quiet and let her finish her thought, "I think I love you, Kazari. I don't know if the desire is the same for you…" He corrected her, "Feelings, not desire. I think you're going human on me." She smirked and said, "That." Kazari stood up and kissed her. It caught her off guard as she stumbled back a little, but then accepted it. He leaned out of the kiss and said, "The feelings are mutual. Thanks for bringing me back." She smiled and said, "Anything for you." She looked around and said, "So what do we now?" Kazari also looked around and replied, "We can't go back there, ever. Your efforts would be in vain if we did. Guess we're on our own now."


	8. Mission: Unsuccessful

Miu was sound asleep in her bed, back to back with Kengo. She didn't cuddle with him because she didn't want to disturb him as he slept. Because the mansion was empty due to the attack downtown, this made the job smooth sailing for New Kazari. He slipped up to the windowsill of Miu's room and attempted to open the window silently, but to no avail. He sighed and said, "Hard way it is, then." He tightened his fist and forced it through the window, jutting both Miu and Kengo out of their slumber. As Kengo sat up, Kazari's knee met his stomach and knocked him out. Miu slammed a pillow down on Kazari's head and shouted, "GET OFF OF HIM, YOU MONSTER!", but it did nothing. The kaijin knocked her off of her bed and onto the floor. She leaned over her bed as Kazari spoke to her, "It's sad that they would just leave their dying friend here." Before he could turn around and take off, she replied, "Take me instead!" Kazari hoisted Kengo over his shoulder, grabbed the Busa Driver, and spoke, "But you're so normal. We need someone that can fuel Dai-Shocker's army with negative cosmic energy. Her eyes widened as he uttered the last three words. "How do you know about that?" she asked, dreading the answer. Kazari replied, "Don't you think Dr. Maki, the head of Kougami Foundation's lab, would be able to access the security system? We know all about his 'abilities' from your efforts to learn. We even know about the part your friends didn't want you to know." Miu's eyes shifted down to the bed and back up to Kazari as she spoke, "What do you mean?" He adjusted the support of his cargo shoulder and said, "The negative cosmic energy grows every time it becomes active. As it grows, his cosmic energy weakens. Once that depletes, its light's out permanently for this kid." She couldn't believe it. Her voice trembled, "WHAT?" Kazari joked, "Man, I'd hate to be his girlfriend or something. That'd piss me off not being informed." His plan was working accordingly. The thought of Kengo's death sent bad chills down her spine as Kazari cackled and jumped back out the window.

Shun placed his foot down on the last kaijin in the area and stomped them as they dissipated into nothing. Everyone cheered for the victory of the Riders as Yuki called Miu to inform her of the news. The phone rang once, twice, thrice, four times before Yuki pulled the phone away from her ear and said, "She's probably asleep." Before Yuki could close the phone, Tomoko caught a terrible vibe from the phone. As it ran down her body, she stood up and yelled, "MIU-SAN!" Everyone stopped their celebration when they heard Tomoko's voice ring out. Wizard slipped the High Speed Ring onto his finger and waved it across his Driver. As it sounded off, he spoke, "I'll hold them off. Meet up with me." and took off. Fourze activated the Rocket Switch and said, "I'm going, too!" and took to the skies. The knight Riders all hopped into the Mirror World and everyone else took their autobikes. Wizard and Fourze arrived too late. They burst through Miu's door to find her sitting against her bed as if she were under a hypnotic spell. They powered down as Gentaro knelt down next to her and said, "Miu, are you okay?" Almost on cue, purple, glowing cracks ran down her face. Gentaro's eyes widened, but Haruto's were wider. "NO WAY!" he exclaimed. She managed to quietly utter the words, "… Kengo. He's dying." Gentaro pulled out the Medical Switch and drop it into the Fourze Driver as Haruto's phone rang. He checked the caller ID and sent the call to speaker. Koyomi's voice came in, "Haruto! Miu-san is a Gate! I'm sorry, I don't know how I missed it!" Haruto replied, "I think I know how." Gentaro grabbed Haruto by the shoulders and said, "She could turn into a kaijin?!" Haruto slipped an Engage Ring onto her right hand and said, "Not if we have something to do about it." Gentaro nodded and flipped the four switches on the Driver down as Haruto shifted the sides of WizarDriver down and up. Simultaneously, they said, "Henshin." as Gentaro pushed the lever forward and Haruto waved his hand across WizarDriver. Kosuke showed up as Wizard activated Fourze Engage Ring and hopped into Miu's conscience with Fourze. Beast shouted, "Oh no you don't! Chimera needs mana!" as he put Engage Ring on his hand and jumped in after them.

The three touched down in Miu's most cherished memory, the promise she and Kengo made in the Rabbit Hutch. Wizard looked around and said, "Damn, this is too small for a giant battle." They looked over at Miu and Kengo sitting on the floor in the test room. She spoke, "Promise me we'll stay together forever." Before Kengo could say his part, the area crumbled and out came a giant kaijin in the form of a white liger. It lunged at the three, who dodged in the nick of time. It continued to rampage about until it burst through the roof of Rabbit Hutch and onto the moon. Fourze ran his hands along the side of his helmet and exclaimed, "MY KINDA FIGHT! UCHUUUUU KITAAAAAA!" Wizard and Beast followed after Fourze's lead. Ryuusei and a small crew arrived to the scene where they found Miu on the floor, despair-filled cracks now making their way down her arm. Before he could help her up, Koyomi's voice rang out, "DON'T TOUCH HER! IT COULD POSSIBLY INTERFERE WITH THE PHANTOM FIGHT!" Ryuusei's hand stopped just shy of her shoulder. Koyomi continued, "She's a Gate. I don't know how I missed it, but…" Philip stepped into the room and finished her speech, "Gates are people with potential to become a Phantom, or mystical kaijin, if they're thrown into despair. This usually occurs when a memory of theirs is shattered right in front of them." Shun knelt down next to her and said, "What memory is it?" Miu silently spoke again, "Kengo might die…" Ryuusei's eyesight immediately shot to Goto. "It wasn't Kengo we needed to keep safe…" Goto looked back at her and said, "It was Miu." Meanwhile, in Miu's Underworld, the liger thrashed about on the moon as Wizard with Dragon, Beast with Chimera, and Fourze combated the kaijin. Fourze popped the Wheel and Giantfoot Switches into the Driver and activated them. He used the wheels to keep up with liger and swung his giant foot around at it. A swift kick was able to knock the kaijin off of its feet. Wizard swiped the Kick Strike Ring across his waist as the Driver responded accordingly, "KICK STRIKE!" Dragon transformed itself into a giant dragon's foot as Wizard's foot connected with the rear end of Machine Winger. The attack landed with ease on the downed beast. Chimera pounced onto liger and chomped at its throat, slaying the enemy and earning the mana.

The despair cracks along Miu's body vanished under a golden glow as the three Riders jumped from her Underworld. Wizard exhaled, "WHEW." while Fourze fist pumped and Beast rubbed his Driver. Miu sat up and looked around, noticing the shattered window. She then looked at her worried friends and said, "Why did everyone keep that information from me?" Goto sighed and said, "We were trying to keep you from knowing because you might overprotect him, and that'd hinder our combat abilities. Miu squinted at him and said, "That's a little hard to believe, Goto-san." JK stepped up and asked, "Did you attempt to stop the kidnapping?" Miu stood up and said, "Of course!" Eiji cut in, "So that would mean your protective instincts would innately kick in. Had known he could die from the negative cosmic energy when we found out, you would've attempted to keep him away from anything that could cause him stress." Ryuusei finished up, "Including fights. This time was an exception because he was exhausted, but next time he might be a necessary factor to our next battle." Miu looked down and plopped onto her bed. Yuki sat next to her and said, "Don't worry, sempai. We'll get Kengo-kun back, and you know it!" Miu looked up at everyone and smiled, "Thanks for keeping it away from me, if that's the case." Shotaro asked, "Do you remember what the kidnapper looked like?" She nodded and said, "It was a kaijin." Shotaro spoke quietly, "Definitely Dai-Shocker." Miu continued, "He was generally black and gray, with a cat-like face and long hair." Eiji, Date, Goto, and Erika simultaneously said, "Kazari." Shotaro raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh. You've met him?" Eiji answered his question, "Kazari's a Greeed. The feline Greeed to be exact." Miu mentioned, "But the kidnapper said that Kengo's dark cosmic energy was important. That it could fuel Dai-Shocker's army, whatever that means." Gentaro spoke up, "They brought the fight to our turf, so let's return the favor!"

Kazari walked through the urban area with Mezool on his arm. They were on the run, so they were constantly keeping an eye out for anything not right as they walked to their original base. As they walked past an alleyway, a tall, buff man and a short burly man stepped out in front of them. The short one spoke first, "Whoooooo! Look at THIS sexy piece of work HERE!" The tall one followed up, "That's some grade-A ass we're looking at!" Kazari gave them a smug look as Mezool spoke up, "This is the body of a middle school senior. Way too young for you." They started to walk again, but the tall one stood in front of them, "Look, we don't care if you just STARTED middle school. We don't let legs like that just walk away." Kazari spoke next, "You're putting yourself in a grave you aren't dead for yet." Mezool scoffed, "Just leave us alone." As they began to walk off again, the short one grabbed Mezool's chest from behind and began groping, "DAMN, these feel nice!" Mezool didn't freak out, she simply looked down at his wriggling fingers, grabbed his hands, and crushed them. The guy fell back in pain, screaming about his broken digits. The tall one yelled, "YOU DIRTY BITCH!" As he swung at her, Kazari stopped his hulking fist with one hand. He grabbed the man's wrist with the other and snapped it. The man stepped back from Kazari, but Kazari wasn't done. He kicked the man in the side of his left knee, knocking it out of place. Now that the man was on the ground, Kazari knelt down next to him and said, "I dare one of you jerks to lay a hand on my girl again. I promise I won't be so forgiving next time." The short man got to his feet and attacked Mezool from behind, tackling her to the ground and keeping her bound with his limbs. Kazari sighed and said, "Your friend is either really horny or really stupid. They both make him stupid either way." He stood up and walked to the man mounted on top of his girlfriend. The man violently rubbed his pelvis against Mezool's behind as he kept her held down. Kazari spoke to Mezool, "Keep your head down…" He waited for the man to lift his head up. The man's hips moved harder and harder as he finally lifted his head. Kazari kicked the man in his chin, breaking his neck and forcing him off of Mezool. She stood up and brushed herself off, "I swear to you, Kazari. If any of it got on my pants, so help me…" Kazari checked her and said, "You're fine. Come on." As they continued down the street, leaving the dead short man and the crippled tall man, Kazu stepped out of the alleyway. He looked at the two and said, "I wonder if I should bring them back alive…"

Kengo regained consciousness inside a pod. The inside of the pod had little rods with orbs on the ends of them. He looked out the viewing window at where the cords and tubes connected to. To one machine, Aquarius was connected. She looked at him and waved in a friendly manner. His eyes darted over to the other side where kaijin were in a general area under a wide satellite dish. In the middle of the setup, Great Leader stood with his hands behind his back. He gestured to Kengo's waist. Kengo looked down at his waist to find Busa Driver strapped to his waist. He attempted to take it off, but it didn't budge. Great Leader finally spoke, "We know about your situation. You know, the one about you dying from negative cosmic energy overwhelming YOUR cosmic energy. This is an experiment. Should it prove successful, we'll use you as our power source for destroying the world. If this experiment fails, we'll kill you." Kengo banged on the window, "LET ME OUT! I'D END UP DYING IF YOU DO THIS ANYWAY!" Great Leader looked at the pack of kaijin and said, "Well that'd just make the job easier. But don't worry." He looked over at Aquarius and said, "Aquarius, do not let him die." Aquarius silently saluted to let Great Leader know she gets it. He turned back to Kengo and said, "Aquarius's restorative properties should be able to keep you at bay while we harvest your negative cosmic energy. If you look above your head, you'll see a vent. That's where her cosmic energy will leak through." Kengo chose not to look up. Great Leader saw him not budge and said, "I guess you're as ready for this as I am." As he walked over to the computer to activate the process, he spoke again, "I've already taken the liberty of setting everything up, so all I have to do is press this button. No wait time." Kengo snapped back, "If only there was no wait time on your silence." Great Leader looked at his lab worker and nodded. The worker nodded back and hit the Enter key. The orbs attached to the rods emitted gentle rays. The effects were completely opposite. Kengo immediately felt his body being drained and dropped to his knees. Great Leader looked at the computer screen and said, "Hm. Already at 30% capacity. I'll just turn it up to speed up the process…"

Before he could hit the button, the base's alarms went off indicating that an intruder had broken into the base. He looked back at the screen. 47%. He activated the transfer sequence, stopping the harvesting sequence. As the rays stopped, Kengo slunk to the pod floor, breathing heavily. The satellite emitted the cosmic energy into the kaijin standing under it. As their powers grew, Great Leader waved his hand toward the door and said, "Go stop our intruders!" The kaijin charged out of the lab with upgraded strength to take on the brave souls that challenged Dai-Shocker. They arrived in the main chamber of the base and noticed all of the normal grunts were unconscious. They then turned their attention to the lone Rider standing in the middle of the room. Ichigo stood sternly awaiting a wrong move. One of the kaijin charged at him, but Ichigo was faster. "RIDER CHOP!" shouted Ichigo as he dodged the monster and chopped them in the neck. The kaijin dropped on the floor and continued in its path until inertia brought it to a stop. Two more of the kaijin, the Violence and Zone Dopants, stepped up and said, "No worries. We'll handle this guy." Violence rushed towards Ichigo, but he didn't budge. As Violence lunged at the Rider, Zone activated her ability and teleported Violence to another area. Before Violence could reappear, a voice sounded off, "CYCLONE! JOKA! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" As Violence appeared behind Ichigo, Kamen Rider W jumped from behind a pillar and Rider Kicked Violence before he could land a hit on Ichigo. Another voice rung out, "GRAVITY!" Above the kaijin appeared a yellow magic circle that held them in place. One of the kaijin yelled, "I thought we got a power upgrade!" Wizard stepped out in Land Dragon Style and said, "You are a little tougher, but you're apparently not a full power." Fourze zoomed past in Elek States and struck the group with Billy the Rod. He touched back down in front of the other Riders and yelled, "GIVE ME MY BUD BACK!" W scratched their head as Shotaro said, I don't think it works that way." Ichigo spoke up, "Just because you have a power upgrade doesn't make you any stronger. It takes conviction to be really strong. As villains bent on destroying the precious life handed to us all, you clearly have no resolve. If that's the case, your cause will fail at our hands." Wizard stepped next to Ichigo and followed up, "If it only takes four of us to handle you all, I wonder how it would go with the rest of us?" One of the kaijin reacted, "You don't mean…!" Joker nodded, "Yup. The rest of us are outside. If we're in here for more than ten minutes, they're rushing the base. I'd hate to be on the side of Dai-Shocker right now. The kaijin trembled under Wizard's gravitational hold. Fourze pointed Billy the Rod at them and said, "I'll ask one more time. Where's my friend?"

Aquarius transferred her cosmic energy to Kengo to regenerate normal cosmic energy within him. Great Leader took a look at the screen and noticed that though cosmic energy was restored, negative cosmic energy overtook more. He looked at Kengo and said, "Well, it looks like you'd only be useful to us up until you're out of normal cosmic energy. We can get a few more uses out of you, however." Great Leader nodded to the worker to start the machine again. Before he could, gunfire stopped the man. Great Leader turned to the direction from where the gunfire came. "YOU! Where are the others?" Kengo got to his knee and looked at the figure. The gunslinger spoke, "Never needed them. If I want something, I get it with my own hands. And right now, I want that kid." The worker had enough left in him to initiate the harvesting sequence again. Doing so, Kengo immediately dropped back onto the pod floor. The gunman sighed and said, "Why is there always a brave soul?" He shot the wires connected to the pod, stopping the harvesting process. He then shot at the pod's window and shattered it. Before he could move to the pod, Great Leader attacked the man. While they skirmished, Aquarius hurried over to Kengo and restored him directly. At a stalemate, Great Leader looked at her and said, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DON'T HEAL HIM WITHOUT MY SAY SO!" Aquarius jumped up and hurriedly bowed to Great Leader in apology. She then turned to Kengo. Before she could lay a hand on him, the gunslinger shot Aquarius away from Kengo. The gunslinger pushed off of Great Leader and shot him numerous times in the chest, but the shots did not kill him. He then hurried to Kengo and helped him to his feet. Kengo looked at the guy and said, "Who are you?" The man looked around and said, "Can you run? It'd be a pain getting you outta here if I gotta carry you." Kengo nodded and looked at Aquarius. As she stood up, Kengo walked up to her and bowed, "Thank you, but I have to go before I die." She happily scratched her head and bowed. Great Leader scrambled to his feet and yelled at Aquarius, "DON'T STAND THERE, STOP THEM!" She stumbled a bit before complying, but Kengo and the gunslinger had already left the room.

Kazari and Mezool arrived at their old base, the run-down bar. Mezool sat on the bar and sighed. Kazari leaned up against a pool table, "Well one thing I don't wanna do is sit here in hiding for the rest of eternity." She looked at him and said, "So what do you propose we do?" A voice came from the dark, "I propose you die!" Kazu stepped into the light to reveal himself as he held the golden Utopia Memory. The two Greeed stood up and stepped back, but not far enough to get out of Jun's destructive radius. He pressed the Memory's button, "UTOPIA!" As the transformation commenced, the bar stools, the pool table, loose tarps, and even Kazari and Mezool, began to float. During the process, a pulse wave tossed all of the floating objects backwards, flinging Mezool over the bar and Kazari into a pile of stools. The pool table crashed into the pile of stools where Kazari landed. Mezool staggered to her feet and said, "Kazari, you okay?" The pool table slid across the floor from the feline Greeed's foot. Kazari pulled himself out of the wreckage and dusted off, "Of course. Something like that can't stop me." "Well how about this?" said Utopia as he force pushed Kazari back into the stool pile. He then lit the stools and pool table on fire and pushed the burning pool table back onto the pile. Mezool doused the flames with water and said, "I'm a marine Greeed, genius. That trick is pointless." Kazari kicked the table back again and stood up, "Though I do kind of dislike water." Utopia attempted to lift Kazari with telekinesis, but Kazari immediately dodged the efforts.

As he darted around the room, Utopia stood completely still. Kazari lunged at Utopia, allowing Utopia's plan to fall into play. He immediately snatched Mezool from behind the bar and held her in front of him. Kazari acted quick and pushed himself out of the way off of Utopia's shoulders, sliding across the bar and falling onto the floor. Utopia then tossed Mezool aside and picked Kazari up with telekinesis. Mezool spun to her knee and wrapped two liquid ropes around Utopia's legs. She didn't pull the ropes, but instead, pushed them and knocked Utopia onto his back. Kazari landed on his feet and jumped over the bar towards Utopia. Inches away from his face, Utopia continued his hold on Kazari. He then sat up and said, "You're a fool if you thought I could only use my hands for telekinesis." He slammed Kazari into one table after another as they broke with every slam. Mezool kicked Utopia in the chest, but her brute strength wasn't enough to break his concentration. He grabbed Mezool by the throat and lifted her up. As she struggled to break his hold, he spoke, "You know, I hate flies. They're pesky. You're being pesky right now." Her movements began to slow down as she faded out of consciousness. Kazari impulsively shouted, "She's got more bite than you do, and she's a girl. What does that make you, a BABY girl?" Utopia not only dropped Mezool out of shock, but also Kazari. Mezool rolled onto her stomach as she gasped for air. Utopia made his way to Kazari, telekinetically pushing everything out of the way. He picked Kazari up again and began to wail on him with just brute strength. Mezool attempted to make a move, but her head was spinning. She could only watch as Kazari was brutally beaten. Before Utopia could land the life-ending punch, he got a call from Great Leader. "Yes, Lord? … Right away." He ended the call and put his phone away, "You were saved. Next time, I'm settling this." He reverted Kazari and Mezool to their human forms and tossed Kazari into the wrecked tables. He also reverted to his human form and walked out of the bar. Mezool waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps to slink over to Kazari as he remained still in the ruins. Tears continued to run down her face as she strained to call him, "…Kazari… Ka…zari…" Kazari's ears were ringing. It was impossible for him to hear her as he slowly closed his eyes.

Kazu arrived at the base to find everyone standing outside, ready for battle. He attempted to sneak around everyone, but Garu-chan was afloat keeping security. Upon noticing Kazu's pure white suit in the night, Garu-chan sounded off and signaled everyone to his location. Diend summoned Gatack and said, "You know what to do." Gatack clocked up and sped up to Kazu, keeping him at bay while everyone caught up. Kazu broke some of the Cell Medals he snatched from Kazari's body during the fight, broke them and tossed them on the ground, spawning Waste Yummy. OOO immediately spoke up, "WASTE YUMMY! They take more oomph to defeat!" Everyone took note of this as they tackled the enemies. Kazu transformed into Utopia, blasing Gatack and any loose rocks away. Upon doing so, he flew towards the base while everyone else remained occupied with the Waste Yummy. Entering the base, he got to the main chamber to find Cell Medals, broken Memory, and shattered Zodiarts Switches lying all over the place along with grunts. Meanwhile, Fourze and Ichigo arrived in the lab to find Aquarius and Great Leader. Fourze switched over to Cosmic States and said, "Where is Kengo?" Great Leader chuckled and said, "He's not here anymore." His attitude didn't rub Fourze the right way as he pointed Barizun Sword at Great Leader. Aquarius ran in front of Great Leader and held out her arms, signaling that she wouldn't let him get hurt.

Outside, the situation had been handled. The last Waste Yummy had been crushed. As they gathered back together, three people in ragged clothing ran up to the group. One of the guys spoke, "Who's the leader here?" Meteor responded, "There is no leader. We're all equal here." The girl spoke, "That sounds a lot like an anarchy. I hope it's not." OOO shook his hands, "Oh no, we aren't an anarchy." The third guy said, "We need your help." OOO spoke up, "Of course. Warriors of justice never turn down help." Metor asked, "What's the request?" The three pointed up. Everyone stepped backwards at the sight above them. Meanwhile, Utopia arrived in the room. He held his cane at the group and said, "You shall both perish at…" His speech was halted by gunfire. The rounds burned into his back. He slowly turned to see W in HeatTrigger form. Shotaro's side spoke, "I'm gettin' sick of your crap, Utopia. Wizard was now in Flame Dragon Form and had WizarSwordGun aimed at Utopia as well. Fourze turned back to Great Leader and said, "I'll ask you one more time. Where is Kengo?" Great Leader stayed quiet, riling Fourze up even more. Before he could charge towards Great Leader, Aquarius held up her hands, stopping Fourze in his tracks. She then rushed over to a wall with wanted posters on it. Fourze looked at the poster she pointed to. It said that the man was wanted for $400 trillion. Fourze then looked at her and said, "So that guy did it…" He turned to Great Leader and said, "We'll finish this when I get my friend back." The four Riders ran out of the room, pushing Utopia aside as if he were a door. Utopia looked at Great Leader, who spoke, "Let it be. While they run to their inevitable death, we'll make stronger preparations."

Fourze and the others arrived outside to see everyone looking up at what appeared to be a gigantic red ship in the sky. On the ship, two people stood. One was a girl leaning against the baluster of the ship, and the other one stood with his arms folded. From the roof of Dai-Shocker's base, the gunslinger jumped with Kengo to the ship. Meteor spoke out, "So how did every single one of us miss that?" One of the guys spoke, "My name is Don. This girl is Ahim and this guy is Gai. Our friends decided to kidnap this kid because he was an important treasure to Dai-Shocker." The girl on the ship yelled from over the baluster, "Are you three SURE you don't wanna be part of A PIRATE CREW?" Gai yelled back, "We're supposed to be heroes, Luka!" Luka replied back, "We're pirates first!" She tapped the guy standing next to her, "Right, Joe?" Joe turned to the gunslinger and said, "I'm only following my captain." Luka smirked and said, "I see you have a fan, Marvelous." Marvelous placed the gun over his shoulder and said, "Their loss if they're not with us." Kengo stumbled to the floor and Luka knelt down to help him up. She grinned upon seeing his face and said, "Wow, you're a cute one!" Marvelous turned towards the hull and said, "We're leaving. Joe, take us out of here." Fourze slapped the Rocket Switch into Fourze Driver in hopes to catch the ship, but to no avail, the ship was faster. He touched back down and dropped to his knees. "DAMMIT!" He pounded his fist into the ground, upset about his failure to rescue his friend.


	9. The Pirate's Plan Proves to be Promising

Kengo, Marvelous, Joe, and Luka were down on the deck below the bridge trying to get Busa Driver off of Kengo's waist. Marvelous and Luka pulled from opposite sides, but had no luck. Navi, the crew's navigational system and bird, looked at the back of it and noticed bolts in a fastening position. "Looks like it's been bolted to stay on" she said as she fluttered around Kengo. Marvelous folded his arms and said, "You look like you're tech-savvy. Are you?" Kengo nodded and said, "I produced this Driver." Marvelous nodded to Joe, who pulled out his Gokai Sabre and pointed it at Kengo's face. Luka panicked and said, "C-CUT IT OUT, JOE!" Joe spoke sternly looked Kengo in the eyes and nodded. Kengo hesitated for a split second and nodded back, gripping the Busa Driver. Joe slashed at the Driver's belt. The sabre sliced cleanly through the belt, releasing the Driver from Kengo's waist. Kengo looked at the Rider system and nodded, "It's still functional. I just have to repair the belt. Thanks for that." Joe folded his arms and coolly gave Kengo a thumb up. Marvelous looked at Kengo and said, "Unfortunately, you can't go back anytime soon." Kengo's eyes shot over to Marvelous, "Why not?" Luka playfully placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "For one, we're in the sky. I don't think you wanna jump from where we are." Marvelous continued, "Dai-Shocker is after that energy of yours. If they destroyed the world, that brat of ours would have no home to return to." Joe looked at Marvelous and smirked, "Is our captain showing a bit of his soft side?" Marvelous snapped back, "What soft side? He's a team member. I don't turn my back on team members." He looked at Luka and said, "Take him to our tech room so he can fix his belt." Luka saluted and wrapped her arm around Kengo's before walking away with him. Joe looked at Marvelous and said, "I still don't get why Ahim and the others were against us taking this kid." Marvelous sat in his chair and said, "We just worded it like pirates. No big deal. We'll be back for them."

Meanwhile, back at Miu's mansion, Ahim, Doc, and Gai introduced themselves to everyone. Upon seeing Ichigo's suit, he immediately went into otaku-mode. "NO WAY! YOU WERE THE MAN WHO FOUGHT ALONGSIDE THE GORENGER! I'M SO HONORED TO HAVE YOU IN MY PRESENCE! CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?" Doc held him back while Ahim flashed back to what led to Kengo's kidnapping, "The situation goes like this, Ichigo-san…"

_It was just another day for the Gokaiger. Joe trained with his and Marvelous's sword as Marvelous ate, Luka and Ahim were looking at magazines in full conversation, while Doc worked on improving the output of the Gokai Guns and Gai read his old Sentai manga. Out of nowhere, Navi flapped into the room, "Guys, we got trouble!" Marvelous dropped his mutton onto his plate and stood up, "This better be good if it means interrupting my meal, Bird." Navi snapped back, "My name's not Bird!" She began to spaz about the room, ending her panic flight with a cranium crash into the support beam behind Marvelous's chair. As she slowly regained her awareness, she spoke in riddle, "The world will end if Dai-Shocker keeps him." Luka looked at Navi with a puzzled expression, "Dai-Shocker?" Gai immediately jumped up and pulled his teaching board to the floor. He then posted information on Dai-Shocker onto the board and began to speak, "Dai-Shocker is the latest form of Shocker, the evil organization that terrorized the world over 40 years ago. The mastermind of Dai-Shocker is known as Great Leader. It's unclear what happened to them after Kamen Rider Decade and the other Kamen Riders defeated him." Doc rubbed his chin, "It's clear that he's back, according to Navi's riddle." Marvelous spoke, "I guess that settles it. We're kidnapping the person they have." Joe and Luka gave their captain a thumb up while the others said nay. Marvelous looked at the three, "What's wrong?" Ahim spoke up, "I don't think kidnapping a kidnapped person would change the fact that they're kidnapped. It would also make us look like bad people." Luka replied, "Ahim, we're pirates before we're anything else. That's a fact you have to accept." Gai gave his spiel, "We're righteous people! We shouldn't use our abilities for evil deeds, even if it DOES mean the end of the world!" Joe replied, "So you have a plan? Because if you don't, you shouldn't talk." Navi chirped up, "Marvelous, this isn't a good idea…" Marvelous shot eyes at Navi, "Hush, Bird." Doc spoke next, "I don't like it! The thought of kidnapping a person… It's not right, Marvelous! What if the Kamen Riders came after us for kidnapping him?" Marvelous scoffed and replied, "I'll cut them down." Gai yelled, "YOU WOULD CUT DOWN HISTORY'S HEROES?!" Marvelous got in Gai's face, "I'll gun down anyone in my way. That includes you." Doc stood up next to Gai, "Are you serious, Marvelous?" Joe stood next to Marvelous, "I'll cut them down with him." Ahim stood on Gai's opposite side, "Joe-san, please…" Luka stood in front of Ahim, "We're pirates, Ahim. Not everything can be sugar-coated." Gai spoke again, "So I guess that settles it…" He drew his GOKAI TRIDENT, but was too slow to Marvelous's gun. In one fell swoop, Marvelous, Joe and Luka disarmed and struck at Gai, Doc, and Ahim, throwing them to the floor. The three immediately fled from the civil strife that had commenced…_

Ahim finished, "And that's the story up until we found you guys." Ichigo folded his arms and nodded, "It all makes sense now. To attack your own allies is a fiendish move, especially for heroes of justice like yourselves. Do you know what they plan on doing with him?" Doc, still holding Gai back, replied, "Knowing Luka, she'd probably convince Marvelous to keep him for a ransom." Gai broke free of Doc's grip and fixed his tattered jacket back onto his shoulders, "No way would Marvelous allow it to go down like that! He may be a pirate, but he's not cold-hearted." Ahim nodded in agreement with Gai. "Well without clear knowledge of what your captain is going to do with Kengo, how would you be able to make the decision to leave on a whim?" Speechless, they all looked at the ground. Miu snapped out of her thought trance and stood up, "So do you guys have any idea of where they may be headed?" Doc scratched his head, "Actually, we were so riled up at the time, that we never DID find that out. Sorry." Ahim spoke, "Knowing our captain, he'll return Kengo-san unharmed, if that's what you're concerned with." Miu nodded and looked over at Gentaro, who was sulking heavily. Seeing him tighten his grip on his right fist with his left hand, Nadeshiko knelt down next to him and tilted her head. This was her way of letting him know she was concerned. Gentaro snapped out of his depressing state and looked back at Nadeshiko. "Don't worry, we'll get him back", he said as he stood and grinned. Nadeshiko smiled, "Get him back! Get him back!"

Luka sneezed, scaring Kengo enough to make him mess up his work. "Are you catching a cold?" he said as he sighed and started over. She shook her head and said, "Someone's talking about me, I'm sure of it." Kengo glanced at her and returned his attention to the belt, "If you say so." She glanced down at the belt, and then back up to Kengo, "You got a girlfriend?" The question caught Kengo off-guard, making him mess up again. He sighed and said, "Yes, I do. Now hush or I'll have to start over again." After a few minutes, Kengo looked at the repairs and said, "There we go." Luka leaned in towards him and gently blew on his ear. This time, Kengo jumped out of the seat. Luka got a hearty laugh out of the joke, but Kengo didn't. "CUT IT OUT!" yelled Kengo as he took heavy breaths. Luka dropped her jesting attitude and said, "It was a joke, relax!" She glanced down at the Busa Driver, which began to slowly drag itself across the workbench towards Kengo. Freaked out by it, she pointed and said, "Hey, the belt!" Before Kengo could notice, it had slung itself at his waist and connected again. Kengo looked up at Luka, "GET OUT, NOW!" Luka pulled out her Gokai Sabre and held it in a defensive stance, "What's going on?!" The Shade Switch materialized into the Busa Driver and activated the transformation sequence. Every loose item in the area was tossed around. Luka was also blown back by the force of the transformation. The Galleon's alarm sounded off, alerting Marvelous and Joe to make their way to the tech room. They arrived at the room to find it trashed. Luka was against a wall, still holding her sword in a defensive way. Hayabusa was once again in Shade States. He slowly stepped towards Luka with intent to kill. Before Hayabusa could take another step, Marvelous fired warning shots at his feet. Hayabusa stopped and turned his head to Marvelous and Joe. Luka took this opportunity to stand up and kick Hayabusa back. The three pirates then pulled out their Mobirates and Ranger Keys. They thrusted the Keys outward and sequentially yelled, "GOKAI CHANGE!" Immediately after that, they put the Keys to their Mobirates and turned them. Their Mobirates sounded off, "GOOOOOOOOKAIGER!" donning their red, blue, and yellow pirate ranger suits. Hayabusa began to slowly walk towards the group. Marvelous dropped his firing arm, "Okay, so you wanna go hand-to-hand then. Alright, no weapons unless he gets one, guys." The two put their swords away as Marvelous cracked his knuckles.

Kazari had regained consciousness. He attempted to open his eyes, but only managed to slightly open his right one. His left one had been closed from his previous fight. He slowly shifted his vision eye around and noticed blue plaid-sleeved arms crossed over his chest. He slightly turned his head and heard Mezool's voice, "Don't move too much. Your wounds might open again. It's not exactly hospital-worthy, but it suffices." He tried to speak, but could only exhale wind. Mezool smirked, "You know, my sacrifice was almost in vain." Kazari didn't respond. He sulked in Mezool's arms. Mezool lifted her hand and began to stroke Kazari's hair, "You know that this place is no longer safe for us, right?" Kazari replied in a whisper, "There's no place else for us. They know about our other abandoned hideout already." Mezool sighed, "We're out of options, unless you don't mind the sewers." Kazari scoffed, "Even if I wanted to turn to the sewers, I'm mortally wounded. I don't think dirty water would exactly be beneficial to my recovery." Mezool rested her chin on Kazari's head, "Dai-Shocker's after us, and it's not like OOO and the other Kamen Riders will help us…" Kazari let his mind wander, indicating to Mezool that he had another crazy idea. "You can't be serious, Kazari!" she exclaimed. Kazari slowly nodded his head, "Why not? It's not like I'm trying to terrorize anyone, so they don't have a reason to fight us. I know that we aren't exactly on equal terms, but if they'd listen to our story we could get them to help us out of this mess." Mezool hesitated, but finally spoke, "Alright then. I'll do it because it's you… I don't get it. We're avoiding trouble. What's wrong with us?" Kazari began to sit up, but Mezool pulled him back and said, "Don't rush it. We know where they are, so you focus on recovering. We can go to them when you can move around." Kazari relaxed and smirked as Mezool continued to pet his head.

Tsukasa had returned to Miu's mansion with the rest of the Riders. Natsumi stood as Tsukasa stepped through the portal, "I see you like to take your time." Megumi marveled at the size of the main room, "This place is huge! Nago-kun, we should get a place like this!" Miu stood up and smiled at Megumi, "Thank you. This is my place of residence." Otoya picked Miu's hand up, "You, my dear, are an angel. You cannot fly right now, but have no fear. I will be your wings. We will let our love take flight!" Before he could kiss her hand, she pulled it away, "Don't do that, sir. I have a boyfriend." Daisuke scoffed, "You have no luck with women." Tsukasa pointed at Otoya, "Don't start that. We're here to defend the world, not flirt." He turned his attention back to Natsumi, "That's where you're wrong, Natsumikan. There was some turbulence when I returned to that world, so I had to resolve it." Daiki folded his arms and scoffed, "Awww, Natsumelon was worried about you, Tsukasa-kun." Natsumi's face turned red as she denied Daiki's words, "That's not true! We just need a lot of people to ensure our win!" Tomoko crept up to Natsumi undetected and slowly pointed at her, "There's a light aura around this one…" Everyone began to jest about Natsumi's reaction to Tsukasa's return. Tsukasa spoke again, "You should know better than to worry for me, Natsumikan. There's no way I can lose." Gentaro stretched his arms, "That's some confidence you got there, Tsukasa!" Yuki perked up, "Everything seems so lively now." Gentaro looked at her and grinned, "That's the miracle of our youth!" The three, including Nadeshiko, took the Kita pose and simultaneously yelled, "YOUTH KITAAAA!" Just then, the group heard a familiar train horn. The main room's coat closet door opened and out came Ryotaro, Yuuto, Hana, and the Imagin. Miu immediately announced, "Okay, I'm officially declaring this room over-capacitated. Everyone outside!"

Meanwhile, on the Gokai Galleon, the three pirates had finally worn Hayabusa down at the expense of their own exhaustion. Marvelous looked down at Hayabusa's Driver and noticed a depressed button. He spoke to his crew, "Okay, here's the plan. Joe and I will restrain him. Luka, press that middle button on his belt and let instincts take place after that." The two nodded and returned their attention to Hayabusa. A few seconds passed before Marvelous made the first move. As he darted toward Hayabusa, Joe followed shortly after and Luka trailed behind him. Marvelous and Hayabusa exchanged blows before Marvelous was able to restrain his left arm. Joe gripped Hayabusa's right arm and Luka immediately pressed the button on his Driver. This caused the key hatch on the front of the Driver to open. Hayabusa immediately retaliated by kicking Luka away, but she got her bearings together and ran back in. Hayabusa kicked again, but she weaved around his leg and in one swift move gripped the key and turned it. The driver sounded off in a shutdown voice, "HENSHIN ABORT." Hayabusa was put into emergency shutdown mode from this, powering Kengo back down to his normal self. He slipped out of Marvelous and Joe's grip, slamming onto the tech room floor. Marvelous sighed a breath of relief. Joe folded his arms and looked towards the door. Luka knelt down next to Kengo and placed a hand on his shoulder, "What in the world just happened?" Marvelous looked down at Kengo and said, "From what I heard from Dai-Shocker, negative cosmic energy just took over. In a nutshell, he went berserk unwillingly." Joe nodded with understanding and said, "So it's like a double-edged sword for him." Marvelous replied, "Actually, it's more like a double-edged blade with no hilt. If he keeps using that form, he can possibly die." Luka looked up at Marvelous, "We kidnapped a dying person?!" Marvelous looked at her, "Would you rather Dai-Shocker have him?" Luka looked down at Kengo and said, "Good point." She looked back up at the two and said, "So you're just gonna stand there? Help me get him up!"

Outside of Miu's mansion, everyone helped out in some way. Haruto got a call from Koyomi that Phantoms were showing their faces, so he took off. Kosuke followed shortly after, and Date dispatched a few others to help make the job easier. Shun, Nago, Momotaros, Kintaros, and a few other guys brought out chairs. Tendou, Megumi, and Ahim helped with the cooking, while Doc, Gai, Wataru, Tsurugi, and few others went to different convenience and grocery stores for food. Ankh sat in a tree like an anti-socialist. Eiji and Hina walked up to the tree and stared at him. Ankh exchanged stares with them and said, "If you're trying to get me to help out around here, forget it." Hina angrily walked towards the tree, but Eiji quickly grabbed her arms and stopped her, "Hina-chan, no!" Ankh clung to the tree like a cat. Miu leaned against her balcony with Ryuusei and Otoya and smiled, "Even though these are dark times for us, we're keeping our heads up. I like this." Ryuusei replied, "It's especially tough for you. Kengo was kidnapped, yet you're not wavering. Most people would break down, but you're pretty strong, Miu." She smiled and held up her right hand, "Thanks, but I DID kind of fall apart." Ryuusei joked, "Only at the seams." The two laughed as they looked upon everyone. Otoya continued to stare at Miu, unnerving her a little. "Y-yes?", she replied timidly. Otoya attempted to swoon her, "My dear, your smile. Wear it proudly, for it warms not just my heart, but the entire world's heart! Let us both keep the world warm with our love for ea…" He was interrupted by Ryuusei's lightning-fast fist stopped just inches away from Otoya's face. "She's taken. Back off, womanizer." Otoya almost lost grip of his violin case, but immediately regained his composure. He fixed his coat onto his shoulders and nodded briskly. Ryuusei dropped his fist and leaned back against the balcony. Miu leaned slightly towards him and whispered, "Thanks, Ryuusei." Ryuusei kept quiet and simply gave her a thumb up.

Back on the Gokai Galleon, Kengo regained consciousness on Luka's shoulder. She had fallen asleep letting him rest next to her. He stood up and noticed that Busa Driver was not with him. He looked around the couch they sat on, but didn't see it. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Marvelous and Joe siting at the dining table with Ranger Keys scattered all over it. As he began to step towards them, Marvelous stood up, turned to him, and fastened the Driver to Kengo's waist. Kengo stepped back, "What the hell are you doing?" Marvelous held up the Key shaped like Gokai Red and said, "See this?" Kengo nodded and Marvelous continued, "Good. Now hold still." He pressed the key hatch button on Busa Driver, exposing the shutdown key. Kengo spoke up, "Cut it out!" The antics woke Luka from her sleep. As she stood up, Marvelous gripped the key, but pulled it out of the keyhole instead of turning it. He then flipped the feet on the Gokai Red Ranger Key up, inserted it into the keyhole on Busa Driver, and turned it. The Rider system began to make noises and finally ended with, "GOOOOOOOOKAI ON!" Busa Driver transformed Kengo into Hayabusa's base form. A bright light flashed, followed by the Gokai symbol flying across Hayabusa's chest. When the light subsided, Hayabusa stood with a new form. The general color of his suit was red with black stripes, gold armor and golden eyes. Joe stood up and walked over to the two, "That's the result of using a Ranger Key?" Luka eased up to them, "That's so cool!" Marvelous spoke, "For some reason, it wouldn't work when I tried the belt." Hayabusa replied, "I think it's because of how the Rider system is developed. The Core engine in it is based off of my DNA, so that would probably explain it best." Joe folded his arms and said, "Either way, it's cool." Marvelous nodded and said, "Now that you look more like a pirate, it's high time you start ACTING more like a pirate."

Later on that day, everyone returned to Miu's mansion. Haruto and the Phantom team, Doc and the grocery team, and Tendou and the cooking team, along with everyone else, were outside in Miu's backyard. This also included Koyomi, Rinko, Shunpei, Wajima, Chiyoko, and Akiko. Miu, Ryuusei, and Goto stood on the balcony in front of her yard. Goto leaned towards her and said, "Might I say, this is a very big yard you have." She looked at him and grinned, "I know, right?" She then turned back to everyone and began to speak, "Okay, so here's the story for those who weren't with us from day one. About a week and a half ago, five of our groups met up. The groups were Haruto's, Gentaro's, Eiji's, Shotaro and Philip's, and Tsukasa's. Out of nowhere, a voice spoke to us and showed us the future of the world if we were powerless to the threat of Dai-Shocker. We attempted to launch an attack with just that group, but we almost lost lives and ended up retreating. Since then, Tsukasa and Daiki were dispatched to round up the protectors of our world since Shocker's first appearance. We were at our halfway point when Kengo, or Kamen Rider Hayabusa, was kidnapped. According to research we've done ourselves, negative cosmic energy flows within him, and it only gets stronger every time he accesses his Shade States." Shunpei rose his hand and asked, "If it keeps getting stronger, why doesn't he just avoid using it?" Miu answered his question, "It's not something he uses by choice. The form is automatically activated whenever he's put under stress." Shunpei nodded and lowered his hand again. Goto picked up where Miu left off, "If the negative cosmic energy completely consumes Hayabusa's cosmic energy, there is a possibility that he could die. Dai-Shocker is after the negative cosmic energy that resides in Hayabusa. It's used as a power source for their kaijin." Akiko jumped up, "So they want to power up themselves at the expense of his life?!" Goto nodded, "In a nutshell, yes." Akiko formed fists with her hands and said, "I was NOT informed of this!" Ryu pulled her back down into her seat. Ryuusei spoke next, "We launched another attack with a stronger force on a rescue operation, but we were too slow to Marvelous and the other Gokaiger. Three of them are with us now, but they aren't here to fight. They're as confused about their captain's orders as we are. Our new mission is to locate the Gokai Galleon and rescue our friend." A voice came out of nowhere, "And we're here to help!"

Everyone's heads turned to where the voice came from. Ahim immediately stood up and grinned at the guests, "Hiromu-san! Ryuji-san! Yoko-san!" A robot stepped in front of them, "I am here to help!" Another man kicked the robot out of the way, "J, MOVE!" He regained his composure and smiled, "Yo. My name is Masato Jin. That guy there is J." J stood up and held up his hand, "Where is the Enetron?" Jin walked over to J and slapped him in the back of the head, "Later, J!" Hiromu walked towards Ahim and said, "There are a lot of unfamiliar faces here." Ahim gestured to them all, "These people are the other side of the justice team, Kamen Riders." Ryuji placed his hands on his waist and spoke, "Wow. There sure are a lot of them." Jin folded his arms and replied, "There are over 200 of us, though." Yoko nodded, "With numbers like that, the Riders seem miniscule to us." Hiromu placed his hand on Yoko's shoulder, "Remember, Yoko. It's not how big the number is, but how big the heart." Ichigo stood up and said, "This man has a point, young lady." Ahim properly introduced them to everyone, "Everyone, these are our allies, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. I called them while we prepared everything." Gentaro jumped up and said, "YOSH! More friends to make!" Nadeshiko jumped up and replied, "Friends! Friends!" With the extra hands now in play, the Riders and Sentai were more confident than ever about their victory.


	10. Great Leader Has a Trump Card!

Kazu stood before Great Leader with his arms tucked behind his back as he spoke, "My lord, we must build up our army more now than ever. Upon my return a few nights ago, I took a look at their forces. There were some missing Riders. I am certain that if they alone could devastate our numbers, more of them would completely annihilate us." Great Leader held his hand up at Kazu, "Enough. I hear what you are saying. However, this is perfect. While our numbers are dwindling and they think they have the upper hand, we can implement our trump card." Kazu looked up at him and said, "That? Is it ready, my liege?" Great Leader replied, "Preparations are set, we just need to set up the bases. Alert the others about the plan." Kazu bowed and spoke again, "My lord, I will take my leave after we have started the process." Great Leader leaned forward in his throne, "Oh?" Kazu looked back up at him and with a looming air about him, spoke, "There is something I must do…"

Hayabusa dodged sword attack after sword attack for three hours straight. Gokai Blue was being relentless on him, giving him no time to retaliate against him. Hayabusa jumped away from Gokai Blue to reformulate a plan, but Gokai Blue made it an effort to keep him on his toes. Hayabusa looked up to see Gokai Blue soaring at him, his Gokai Sabre ready. Hayabusa decided right then and there to drop his logical way of thinking and let his body move on its own. Gokai Blue's Sabre met the deck of the Gokai Galleon. Hayabusa managed to dodge Gokai Blue's attack a few inches shy of taking damage. Luka nodded and said, "Now you get it." Hayabusa looked at her and said, "So drop logic…" Marvelous finished, "… And act. Strategy is good, but only in tactical situations. We're not gonna test your tactical skills, we already know from the three hours of you trying to formulate a plan that you would prefer a logical way of winning." Hayabusa prepared to power down, but immediately took fire. The bullet just missed Hayabusa's face, judging from where it hit the deck. He looked back up to find Marvelous aiming his Gokai Gun at him. Gokai Blue turned to Marvelous and said, "Guns weren't part of the plan." Marvelous kept his gun trained on Hayabusa, "Now they are. Kengo, you will now dodge a bullet." The atmosphere took a turn for the worse before Marvelous dropped his arm and smirked as he said, "Joke." Luka and Hayabusa simultaneously exhaled and Gokai Blue shoved Marvelous, "What the hell, Marvelous?!" Marvelous smirked at Joe and said, "What, I can't have a laugh every now and then?" Luka walked up to her captain and said, "That was pretty dark, Marvelous." Kengo powered down and said, "Actually, I'm glad he's that way. It's good to know that he's not a soft captain. He's leading you guys well." Joe powered down and gave him a thumb up. Marvelous folded his arms and said, "Don't go gettin' soft already, Kengo. Training's not over yet."

The Riders split into different groups to begin the search for their friend. Haruto led one group, Gentaro led another group, Eiji led the third, Shotaro the fourth, Tsukasa the fifth, and Hiromu led the last. Miu set her mansion up as a headquarters for them to report back to if anything popped up. Yuki spent the most time engineering Powerdizer with Kengo, so she managed repairs. Koyomi, Hina, and Akiko did recon from the mansion while Rinko, Shunpei, Tomoko, and JK did mobile recon. Ryuusei and Goto were in Rabbit Hutch with Nago and Megumi, producing another Ixa Knuckle. Haruto's team consisted of Kosuke, Ichigo, Nigo, Black and Shadow Moon, and everyone from Agito and Blade's worlds. Gentaro's team was Nadeshiko, Stronger and Tackle, along with all of the ZECT Riders, Diend, Godai Kuuga, and Onodera Kuuga. Eiji's team was V3, Skyrider, Date, Ankh, Super-1, Faiz's world, and Kiva's world. Shotaro's team was formed of Ryu, Amazon, and the knight Riders of Ryuki's world. Tsukasa's team was Natsumi, X, and every oni Rider from Hibiki's world. Hiromu led his spec-ops team, the three pirates, Black RX, and Den-O and Zeronos, along with the Imagin. Altogether, the search and rescue team would total to 86 members.

Haruto looked to his team and said, "Alright. I'm not much of the 'leader' type, so I'm going to keep it really simple. As we search for Kengo, keep an eye out for any kaijin activity." Gentaro turned to his team and said, "Alright, guys…" Tsurugi stepped in front of Gentaro and cut him off, "My team, I shall lead us to victory!" Kagami scratched his head and said, "Uh, this isn't a competition though." Tsurugi grinned and said, "My friend, Ka-GA-mi is correct! This isn't a competition, for we are ALL winners!" Kagami looked around and said, "Can I be on another team?" Tendou pointed towards the sky and said, "Grandmother once said this. Don't frown because the beef is not cooked thoroughly. Simply cook it longer." Godai nodded and said, "He's right. If it's not how you choose to see your team, simply change your view." Yuusuke folded his arms and said, "I don't think I can change my view on the fact of two Kuugas." Gentaro jumped up and said, "Forget leadership, let's find Kengo!" Eiji smiled as he looked at Gentaro. He then turned to his team and said, "I'm not much of a leader myself, I just try to keep peace. So let's follow their lead." Date firmly placed his hand on Eiji's shoulder and said, "That's the best kind of leader, Eiji-kun. The one's that lead from the rear can see all." Shotaro spoke up, "What nonsense are you feeding him, Date? A real leader is hard-boiled, and leads with his troops." Ryu said to Shotaro, "For once, I can agree with you." Shotaro dusted his fedora off and said, "You should ALWAYS agree with me." Ryu finished his statement, "I'm not going to though. You're half-boiled, so you don't qualify as a leader." Shotaro stumbled and bickered with Ryu as his team laughed at the antics.

Tsukasa stood in front of his team with a stern look on his face. Before he could say anything, Natsumi immediately spoke up, "He wants to tell us to work together well, but he doesn't know how to." Tsukasa put his hand in Natsumi's face and said, "Incorrect, Natsumikan. I was coming up with a plan for the search." Hibiki stepped up and said, "Don't worry about it, Tsu-kun. We have perfect search equipment." Akira opened reinforced briefcases to reveal discs with different colored edges. The oni riders then activated their instrumental Rider systems and waved them over the disks. The sounds of the instruments made the discs take the shape of different animals. Hibiki spoke, "We're looking for a giant red pirate ship. If you get any leads, please report back" and waved them off. Gentaro's face lit up as the animals' colors spread across the area, "SUGOI! That's so cool!" Everyone looked at the animals as they took off. Hibiki nudged Ibuki and said, "Get's 'em every time." Hiromu looked at his team. Before he could get his words out, Ryuji spoke first, "No worries, Hiromu." Yoko smiled and tapped him on the shoulder, "You've led us for almost three years now. We know you can handle it." Hiromu looked at his team and nodded, "Thanks, guys." Just then, his Morphin' Brace began ringing. He answered it to hear commander Kuroki's voice, "If you need any help while you're gone, don't hesitate to call." Hiromu smiled and nodded, "Thanks, commander." Before Commander Kuroki could close out the transmission, a female's voice came in, "HOLD THAT CALL!"

Kuroki, Nakamura, and Morishita all sighed in unison as a girl ran into central command. Nick stood up and yelled, "Who let her in?!" Gorisaki pointed his fist at her, "There's nothing here for you!" Usada's arms flailed about as he followed up, "You're not welcome, go home!" The girl winked at the Buddyroids and said, "I let myself in, of course. It's not a party without me. And I'm not here for you guys anyway." She turned to the com screen and said, "I'm here for YOU!" Hiromu's eyes widened as he looked at his Morphin' Brace. Ryuji looked from Hiromu's opposite side and said, "Oh, it's her." Yoko looked from Hiromu's right and said, "Her again!" Jin leaned in between Hiromu and Yoko and said, "Hey, it's your girlfriend!" Hiromu shoved Jin away, "It's not like that!" He looked back at his Brace and said, "Reika, not today. We're kinda trying to save the world here." Yoko grinned at Hiromu, "Ohhh, her name is Reika?" Hiromu pointed at Yoko and said, "Hush!" Reika placed her hands on her waist and said, "Well I'll help." She turned to Kuroki and said, "Kurorin, I want a Morphin' Brace." Kuroki put his hand on his forehead and said, "Jin, why would you bestow that nickname onto me?" Jin spoke up, "Go ahead with it, Kurorin. This might be fun!" Ryuji followed up, "Yeah, if she was able to elude US…" Hiromu sighed and said, "She IS skilled in combat." Yoko jumped in, "It'd be nice to not be the only girl on the team." Nakamura's voice rung out from out of the com screen's vision, "HEY, WHAT ABOUT ME?!" Yoko apologized, "Sorry, Nakamura! I meant on the fighting team." Nakamura looked at Kuroki and said, "Still, it WOULD be nice to have more feminine members around." Kuroki thought for a second, and spoke, "Fine. I'll deploy Pink Buster when preparations are complete." Everyone cheered as Reika looked at Hiromu from the com screen and blew him a kiss. Everyone on Hiromu's end began to whoop for him, even though he kept telling them they weren't dating. Kotaro walked up to Hiromu and said, "Since you will be gaining a new member, I'm going to join Fourze's team. He's the most understaffed." Hiromu nodded and said, "Alright. Thanks for the help, RX-san." Now that the teams were set up, everyone dispatched in different directions of their respective team leaders.

Gamel moped about in his bed. "Mezool…", he groaned as he drew circles on the floor with his finger. Uva lied back in his bunk and stared up at the ceiling, "It's been almost a week since they last said anything to us." Dr. Maki continued to dress his doll while Lost Ankh sat on his bunk, playing with a yoyo. "I say we go look for them", said Uva as he sat up and placed an arm on his knee. Lost Ankh retracted the yoyo and looked at Uva, "If we went after them, it'd be no different than when THEY left. We'd be hunted next." Uva stood up, "This is bullshit! We need to find them!" A voice sounded off, "And I agree with you." The four Greeed turned their attention to the door, where Kazu stepped in from. Uva was the first to respond, "See? Even Kazu agrees!" He stopped his train of thought and looked back at the man, "Why do you agree? You WANTED them dead." Kazu looked at Uva and said, "Even if I DO want them dead, Great Leader has different plans for them. They can't survive on their own. I propose you go find them and convince them to come back to base." The room was deathly silent upon hearing Kazu's request. Kazu looked at the small window, the afternoon sunlight radiating in from the outside. "Without Great Leader's permission, I can't lay a hand on them. They will be fine unless Great Leader has different plans for them, which I highly doubt. We need all of the forces we can gather, so I see no reason why he would cast them aside like that." Gamel sat up in his bed, "We can find Mezool?" Kazu smirked and nodded, "Yes, you can find Mezool." Gamel jumped out of his bunk and happily grabbed Uva's arm, "We can find them, Uva!" Lost Ankh looked at Kazu with a stern expression, "You won't lay a finger on them?" Kazu veered his attention to Lost Ankh, "I promise."

The Gokai Galleon sailed through the night sky as Kengo leaned off the baluster of the lookout point, staring up at the moon. "Here, it's hot, so be careful." Kengo turned to see Luka holding two mugs, each with steaming tea in them. "Thanks", he said as he grabbed a mug from her. She leaned against the lookout point with him. A second of silence passed before Kengo spoke, "You know that's awfully nice of a pirate to bring me tea just because." Luka smirked, "Hey! Even though I'm a pirate, I still take in count that I'm a girl first." Kengo joked, "Are you now?" Luka jabbed him in the arm for the gesture. They shared a laugh before Luka continued, "Besides, you're a pirate too." Kengo smirked as he blew steam off of the surface of his cup. Luka looked at him and said, "Talk to me." Kengo looked up at her and said, "You came up HERE. You talk to me." Luka replied, "Tell me about this Shade Switch States you're trying to avoid." Kengo corrected her, "Just Shade States." She leaned back against the lookout point and said, "Whatever, just fill me in." Kengo scoffed and said, "Well, it started from an Astroswitch Miu and I were constructing. This voice came out of nowhere a couple of weeks back and said it'll restore what was temporarily out of our reach. It sent this Switch towards me, so I assumed it was completed. Unfortunately, there were some nasty side effects. One night, everyone accused me of working with the enemy. I guess the anxiety of the moment fueled the Switch to automatically activate itself. Since then, I've been infected with negative cosmic energy since then. You already know the rest of the details."

She stared out into the open sky for a moment before asking him, "What do you want?" Kengo paused to look at her, "Huh?" Luka replied, "What do you want right now?" Kengo thought for a second and said, "I want Miu." Luka exhaled and said, "No, not her." Kengo tilted his head out of confusion. Luka clarified herself, "Forget everything you have right now. Tell me what you want right now." Kengo, even more confused, said, "… You?" She hit him in the shoulder, "Don't give me an answer I'm looking for, give me an answer YOU want." Kengo sighed and said, "Well, I DO want to use Shade States with my own free will. It's pretty powerful, so it'd be good to…" Luka cut him off, "THERE we go! Now we have a feasible answer." Kengo nodded and said, "There's no point in having a form I can't use." Luka slapped him on the back, "Right. Have your cake AND eat it!" Kengo looked at her and asked, "So what do YOU want?" Luka immediately changed the subject, "This isn't about me right now, and we have to get your situation settled first." Kengo nodded and sipped from his cup. Luka winked at him and said, "Besides, that's a woman's secret." Kengo donned a sarcastic expression and said, "Of course it its. But since you wanted to know, what's the next step towards controlling Shade States?" She pointed at him as she finished her cup of tea. Marvelous's voice came from behind them, "That's the answer right there. Control. You need to control IT, don't let it control you." Kengo looked back at him with a bit of understanding, and then it dawned on him. He scratched his head, "Why didn't I think of it that way before?" Marvelous folded his arms and said, "You're the type of person dream big with small steps. If you wanna fight, you have to get used to dreaming big in a basic way." Luka smiled and looked at Kengo. "Basically, dream big basically…"

Haruto's team arrived at an abandoned factory. Before they split up, Haruto said, "So Miu said that there is activity going on in this general area. Spread out and search for anything out of place. No need to report back if you can handle it." Kosuke spoke up, "If you come across any Phantoms, let me know! I must defeat them to restore Chimera's mana." The Riders spread out into smaller groups. Haruto thought out loud, "An abandoned factory? Gonna be pretty tough to find something here." Meanwhile with Gentaro's team, they all arrived around Amanogawa High School. It was still late, so the gate was closed. Kagami spoke up, "Hey, it's closed. Is this really okay?" Gentaro turned to him and grinned, "No worries. At least we won't have to worry about any annoying teachers trying to stop us." Daiki joked, "Yeah, we DO look like a band of misfits." Gentaro continued, "We're just going in to have a look around. Plus, this is the only way I can get you all to Rabbit Hutch at once." Tsurugi interjected, "I stand at the top of investigating!" Kagami quickly wrapped his hand around Tsurugi's mouth to keep him quiet. Everyone turned back to the gate to find Tendou already across it and walking towards the school. Gentaro whispered to Tendou, "Wait for us!" Tendou continued to walk, "It's nothing I can't handle." Kagami let go of Tsurugi and exhaled, "That guy is a handful…" Everyone hopped the front gate to catch up with Tendou. While this was going on, Eiji's team arrived at a wooded area. They stopped near the edge of the clearing as Eiji answered his phone. "Oh, Hina-chan. What's up?" Hina spoke, "Eiji-kun, remember that as the leader of the team, you have to keep your energy up. I sent some candroids with bento boxes after you guys. They're surprisingly useful!" Eiji scoffed and replied, "I got it. Thanks, Hina-chan." Before he could close his phone, she interjected, "Eiji-kun!" He pulled the phone back to his ear, "What's wrong?" She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head, "It's nothing. I'll talk to you later." Eiji nodded, "Okay", and closed his phone. He turned to his team and Wataru had just closed his phone as well, "Nago-san-tachi will be ready soon. I told them to meet us here." Eiji nodded and looked at his team, "Alright, guys, there's a lot of area around here, so we'll spread out. Hina-chan sent bento boxes this way so we can keep our strength up."

Meanwhile, Shotaro's team arrived downtown. Philip lightly stroked his chin and said, "There's a lot of movement at night." Shotaro placed his hands on his waist and said, "That's true. Luckily, Ryuki and the other Riders can search through the mirrors. The rest will be left to us. Philip and I will check low, Ryu and Daisuke-san will check high." Shinji nodded and said, "You heard the man. Let's go, guys." Ren spoke up, "Last time I checked, I won the Rider War." Shinji groaned, "Seriously? That means nothing in this situation!" Shotaro interrupted, "Oi! Go!" The Riders spread out and jumped into reflective objects. Shotaro sighed and said, "What a handful." Tsukasa's team arrived in the mountain area and stopped near a river. Natsumi sat down on a small boulder and exhaled, "Finally! Tsukasa-kun, you walk too much." Tsukasa knelt down next to her and whispered to her, "I'm hurting too. I'm just keeping a strong face because I don't wanna be shown up by the oni Riders." Hibiki knelt down by the river and splashed water on his face. He turned to Tsukasa and said, "So what now, leader? Our friends are still searching, so I say we take a break." Tsukasa quickly stood up, "Is that your way of saying you're tired? Well if that's the case, I can't overwork my team. Let's take a break here." Hibiki smiled and said, "Oh, no. I'm trained. I can keep going. You just look like you're about to collapse." Hibiki saw right through Tsukasa's front. Unfortunately for Tsukasa, he DID stand up too fast. He stumbled backwards and tripped over a rock, ultimately dropping him on his back. Natsumi immediately got up and helped him up, "Are you alright, Tsukasa-kun?" Tsukasa sat up and said, "He's good."

Hiromu led his team to the other side of the downtown area from where Shotaro was and said, "Alright, this is our search area. Everyone keep sharp eyes on everything." He looked at Yoko, who was smiling back at him. "What?" She shook her head and said, "Nothing. You just really stand out as a leader. That's all." Hiromu sheepishly nodded and said, "Oh, okay. So anyway, we're gonna split up into smaller teams and spread out. Ryuji, Yoko and I will take the main roads… Yoko, you're kind of creeping me out right now." She snapped out of her trance, "Oh! Sorry." Ryuji looked at her and said, "Yoko-chan, are you alright? You look a little red." She waved her hand at Ryuji and said, "I'm fine, Ryuji. I just need to eat some sweets." While the three spoke, Jin grinned as he loomed over Yoko's shoulder. She turned around and dropped her snack when she saw his face, "What's with you, Jin-san?!" Jin smoothly said, "You know he has a girlfriend right?" Yoko muttered, "Don't remind me…" Hiromu, Ryuji, the Imagin, and the pirates let shock fall on their face. Ryotaro looked around and said, "What's wrong?" Urataros waved his hand and said, "She just semi-confessed." Ryotaro let shock fall on his face as well. Momotaros spoke up, "You're pretty dense, Ryotaro." Ryuuta joked, "I think he gets it from you." Momotaros chased Ryuuta around shouting, "Get back here, Brat!" Yoko's face reddened by a few more shades upon realizing what she said, "N-NO! We're teammates, and that's inappropriate!" Ahim smiled and said, "You can't let rules dictate your heart." Jin followed up, "I agree with her. I say you fight Pink Buster for Hiromu." Yoko stepped back, "Ehh?" J put his hand on Yoko's shoulder and said, "Don't worry; my money is on you, Yoko." Yuuto immediately stepped in, "Can we get this done? I could be doing something more important to me." Deneb stepped behind Yuuto and said, "Yuuto, these are emotions we're dealing with right now. You can't step in with this kind of situation." Yuuto spun around and kicked Deneb in the chest, knocking him over. He then put Deneb in a headlock and yelled, "DENEB! THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR YOUR PROVERBS!" J pointed at the submission and said, "That looks familiar…" Jin quickly spun around and slapped J in the head, "This is why it's familiar!" J raised his hand and said, "Oh yeah! It's familiar because I've seen my kuwagata clamping on a twig! My kuwagata is awesome…" Jin put J in a headlock and said, "SHUT UP, J!" Hiromu looked back at Yoko and said, "Yoko, what are you trying to say?" She fiddled with the snack wrapper she held in her hand for a second. Before she could say anything, Reiko's voice rung out, "I'M HERE!" Everyone stopped and looked at the silhouette on top of a building. She jumped down and landed next to the group. She then wrapped her arms around Hiromu and pressed her lips on his cheek. Yoko's nervousness quickly flipped into anger. Ryuji stepped away from Yoko and said, "Kinda glad she doesn't have my split personality right now." Hiromu wriggled out of Reiko's grip and said, "Look, we have to find Kengo. Let's settle this later." Everyone, except Yoko, agreed. She tightened her fist around the empty wrapper.

Meanwhile, on the moonlit Gokai Galleon, Gokai Red and Hayabusa stood back to back, each with a Gokai Gun in their hands. They both took ten paces in opposite directions. As they spun, they drew their weapons and fired. Gokai Red dodged to his left while Hayabusa dodged to his right. Two seconds passed before they continued firing and dodging. This showdown carried on for a few minutes before Gokai Red dropped his Gokai Gun and drew his Gokai Sabre. Luka tossed her Gokai Sabre to Hayabusa, but Gokai Red wouldn't allow it. He immediately charged towards the sword and grabbed it just short of Hayabusa's reach. He then tossed Luka's weapon to the side and said, "Just guns for you." Hayabusa looked at Luka and Joe, who shrugged, and then back at Gokai Red, who had wound his arm back for an attack. Hayabusa rolled out of the way as Gokai Red brought his sword down on the deck. Gokai Red turned to Hayabusa and rushed his way. Hayabusa ducked and dodged every attack, but couldn't get a clear shot towards Gokai Red. He stepped on Gokai Red's shoulder and jumped off, putting distance between them. Now with enough space, he was able to aim and shoot. Unfortunately, Gokai Red wasn't letting this happen either. Every shot fired at Gokai Red was deflected. Gokai Red proceeded to slowly move towards Hayabusa, deflecting every bullet thrown his way. Hayabusa took a step back and let his heel hit Gokai Red's gun. Gokai Red lunged at Hayabusa, who had finally decided to let his pirate instincts kick in. He immediately dropped to the deck and tossed Gokai Red with his feet. Gokai Red quickly caught himself and spun around to find two Gokai Guns aimed at him. He folded his arms and scoffed as he powered down. "Now you get it. Now, not only do you have strategy, you also have instincts." Joe clapped and Luka cheered as they walked toward the two. Kengo powered down and handed the weapons back to their respective owners, "Thanks, guys." Marvelous got serious, "We're not done yet. You still have one more task at hand. You're gonna learn how to use that Shade States to your advantage." Kengo spoke up, "If I use that States again, I can possibly die…" Luka looked at Marvelous, who asked, "And you're ready to take that leap?" Kengo looked Marvelous in the eyes and confidently said, "Of course." Joe and Luka smirked as Marvelous grinned and said, "Then let's do this."


	11. Kaijin Are Why We Can't Have Nice Things

As they entered the school, Gentaro spoke, "Okay. The entrance to the Rabbit Hutch is in the basement. We'll split up and work our way to the custodian's closet. The team split up and searched the school for anything suspicious. Gentaro and Nadeshiko checked the rooms down the east wing while Kotaro, Daisuke, and Tsurugi checked the west. Onodera, Tendou, and Kagami checked the main hall. Stronger, Tackle, and Godai checked the outer premises. As Gentaro and Nadeshiko got closer to the basement, a noise echoed down the hall from the custodian's closet. The two put their Drivers on and ran down the hall to the right turn that would bring them to the closet. The door opened quickly and out slid JK. He was holding a backpack with one strap slung over his shoulder. He turned to Gentaro and said, "Oh! Miu sent me to get some stuff. Sorry for startling you, sempai." Gentaro nodded and said, "No problem. Hey, have you seen any suspicious activity around here?" JK placed his fingertips on his lower lip and said, "Nothing more suspicious than you two with your Drivers on." Gentaro scratched his head and said, "Well, yeah… Are Ryuusei and the others in there?" JK shook his head, "Uh-uh. No one was in there. I'm gonna deliver this stuff to Miu and keep looking for Dai-Shocker. He saluted and continued out the school. Gentaro folded his arms, "Weird. Ryuusei should've met up with us by now." By this time, the others began to arrive. Nadeshiko tugged on Gentaro's sleeve and pointed to the others as they walked up. "Oh, did you find anything?" Daisuke joked, "Just a lot of air. Nothing other than that." Gentaro nodded and said, "So then things are fine here. I'll take you all to the Rabbit Hutch now." The group followed Gentaro into the custodian's closet, through the Gate Locker, and into the Rabbit Hutch. It was quiet and orderly in the base. Tendou's eyes slowly shifted from one end of the room to the other before he held his hand up to keep everyone quiet. He then said, "If you can hear my voice, make a sound." A few seconds passed before the group heard something fall. Gentaro looked towards the test lab and ran to it. The door slid open, revealing a tied up Ryuusei. Gentaro quickly untied his friend and said, "Dude, what happened?!" Ryuusei spoke, "Sagittarius. He came here shortly after everyone left. I was grabbing a few things when he caught me off guard and tied me up. I didn't have time to retaliate." He slammed his fist against the wall and said, "I'm gonna kill that bastard…" Kagami spoke, "He tied you up, but didn't take anything?" Ryuusei replied, "No. He went out to the moon, came back and left." Gentaro looked down at the floor and rubbed his chin, "Hmm…"

Meanwhile in the mountains, everyone was resting up. Tsukasa leaned against a tree as he looked out at the moon. "I don't know what it is about these mountains, but they complement the moon. Right, Natsumikan?" She brought a bowl of soup to him and sat next to his feet, "Yeah. It's like everything has gone to sleep." He sipped from the bowl and said, "This soup makes the mood better. I feel like I don't have to worry about a thing." Just then, the two heard rustling. Tsukasa handed the bowl back to Natsumi and said, "Someone's ruining my good mood." He pulled out Decade Driver and put the belt on. As he stepped closer to the wooded area, the sounds grew louder and louder. A foot stepped from out of a bush. Tsukasa pulled out his Decade Rider Card and held it out at the figure. The man held his hands up and said, "Whoa, Tsukasa-kun. I just came from relieving myself." Natsumi and Tsukasa sighed and simultaneously said, "Hibiki…" He smiled at them and said, "Don't blame me. Blame nature." Tsukasa dropped his arm and said, "It's your fault." Hibiki replied, "But nature called." Tsukasa walked to Natsumi and said, "You responded. It's your fault." He took the bowl back from Natsumi and continued to sip from it. While the group had dropped their guard, one of Dai-Shocker's minions reported back to Great Leader, "My liege, it is set. I have cloaked it, and all it needs is to be activated when ready." Great Leader nodded and said, "Good work. Return to base."

Shotaro and Philip split up and checked different stores and buildings out. They unfortunately got no clues or hits to Kengo or kaijin activity. Daisuke and Ryu looked around from the tallest building before jumping to the next tallest building to look from there. Meanwhile, Shinji and the others ran about in the Mirror World keeping security on different locations. As they hopped to the next building, Ryu spotted a Dopant on one of the smaller building's rooftop. As they landed, he tapped Daisuke, "Hey, there. Follow him, I'm gonna let Shotaro know about it." Daisuke nodded and took after the Dopant. Ryu knelt down and pulled out a cell phone. Shotaro had just stepped out of a clothing store. He unclipped his fedora from his waist and blew dust off of the brim when his phone rang. He fitted the hat to his head and pulled out his phone, "What's up?" Ryu spoke, "We got a Dopant on the roof. Amazon chased after it." Shotaro replied, "Got it. I'll let the others know." He slid his phone back into his pocket and spoke out, "You heard that, Philip? We got one. Look alive." Philip replied, "Not right now. I recently came across a collectible figurine called a Sofubi. I'm learning about how and why they were created and why people collect them." Shotaro scratched the back of his head and said, "Now of all times… I gotcha, partner." He then pulled out Lost Driver and took off down the street.

Hiromu's team split up and searched the buildings and stores in the area. He, Ryuji, Yoko, and Ahim checked the shopping center, while Jin, J, Doc, Gai, and Reiko checked the main avenue. Ryotaro, Yuuto, and the Imagin spread out amongst the smaller streets. It was odd that no one was immediately frightened when the Imagin asked for directions. Probably because of how adorable they looked. Either way, the search went on. Yuuto checked up on Deneb's progress and came across him handing out candy to whoever he talked to. Yuuto walked up, "Oi, Deneb! What are you doing?" Deneb turned to Yuuto and said, "Oh! I'm handing out candy to people who help out." Yuuto put his hands on his waists and said, "That's not necessary. If they don't have any information, they don't deserve it." Deneb handed a piece of candy to another person and turned back to Yuuto, "Even a kind gesture is enough, Yuuto. You have to be considerate of the people that try to help." Yuuto folded his arms and said, "Fine. Do whatever you want." He then grabbed a piece of candy from Deneb's basket and walked away. Meanwhile in the shopping center, Ahim walked alongside Yoko as the two causally looked around for anything out of place. Yoko spotted Hiromu and Ryuji walking toward the food court and thought out loud, "I could go for some sweets. How about you, Ahim?" Ahim smiled at her and nodded. The two walked into the food court behind a group of people behind the red and blue Busters.

On the main avenue, the others had split up to cover ground faster. Doc and Gai went around describing Kengo to people for anyone that may have seen him, but got no leads. J simply walked up to people and said, "I'm looking for Kengo. Have you seen him?" This weirded people out as they steered clear of him. Jin ran up and slapped J in the head, "No, idiot, you give them more detail than just a name. It helps them envision it better. Watch me." He walked up to a young woman and said, "Excuse me; I'm looking for a friend. He's a college freshman who's a little shorter than me, with shoulder-length hair the same color as mine, but not as good-looking." The woman giggled and said, "That's funny. I haven't seen anyone like that but if I do, I'll let him know to call…" He immediately replied, "Masato. Jin Masato." The woman smiled again and said, "Jin Masato. I'll keep that in mind." He nodded, "Thanks", and walked towards J. "See, like that." Reiko decided to disobey orders to go look for Hiromu instead. She walked around the shopping center looking through windows for any sign of him. "I can't believe he chose to go with that bunny girl over me", she thought out loud. She quickly grew bored of looking around the stores and decided to go get a snack from the food court. She bought a pretzel from a vendor in the food court. Upon taking a bite of the pretzel, she threw it away. "Not to my tastes." She spotted Yoko and Ahim sitting at a table and decided to sit with them. "Yo, guys!" Ahim waved at Reiko while Yoko scowled and looked the other way. Ahim tapped Yoko on the shoulder, "A young lady shouldn't scowl. It can cause wrinkles to form." Yoko groaned and turned towards the two.

Hiromu talked as Ryuji ate, "I say we take one more look through the shopping center before we head back to the meet-up spot." As Hiromu sipped his drink, Ryuji spoke, "I was gonna suggest the same. Things don't feel right here." Ryuji finished up his food and drink while Hiromu said, "Alright then. If we see Yoko and Ahim, we'll let them know the plan." Ryuji put his garbage on his tray and said, "We can tell them right now. They've been here ever since we sat down. And Reiko's with them." Hiromu turned to see the three girls. He sighed and walked over to them with Ryuji. Reiko turned and grinned when she saw Hiromu. "Hi, sweetie!" She jumped up and snuck a kiss on his lips. This frustrated Yoko enough for her to unknowingly bend her spoon with sheer force. Hiromu stepped back and said, "What the hell was that?!" Reiko smiled and said, "It was a kiss. Don't you know what a kiss is?" Ahim stood up and said, "That was completely uncalled for!" Ryuji followed up, "That WAS a bit much." Yoko stayed quiet. Reiko spoke, "I'm sorry, but I can't control what my heart wants. And what my heart wants is Papa…" Hiromu, Ryuji, and Yoko's eyes all widened upon hearing the word. "Escape", said Hiromu. Ryotaro, Yuuto, and the Imagin strolled into the food court for a break. Ryutaros sat in a chair and happened to notice the sentai members standing around. He got back up and walked over to them, "Hey, it's you guys!" Reiko quickly grabbed Ryutaros and held him hostage. She then let out her shrill laugh as she digitized back into her original form. The Riders and Imagin turned to the noise to see Ryutaros being held captive. Escape spoke, "I must say, I strung you guys along pretty well." Another voice rung out, "Oui oui, mademoiselle. You really had them going." Ryuji yelled out, "Enter! Where are you hiding?!" He stepped from behind the pretzel vendor and pulled off the work uniform, revealing his normal clothing.

Doc and Gai sat on a bench, exhausted from talking to every passerby. Gai spoke, "This is a lot of work for one person." Doc nodded and said, "But it's for a friend. We have to find him. He can bring us back to Marvelous-tachi." Just then, Gai's Gokai Cellular rang. It was Ahim. "Gai, we're fighting enemies in the food court. Please help us out!" Gai stood up and said, "Doc and I will be there shortly!" He hung up the Cellular and said, "Ahim-tachi are in a fight right now. Let's go!" Jin and J spotted them running towards the shopping center. J said, "I wonder what they found…" Jin replied, "Let's find out." The two followed behind the pirates. Shortly after, they arrived at the food court where the group were fighting Bugglars, Enter, and Escape. All of the civilians had already evacuated the area. Jin exclaimed, "Dammit, they ALWAYS have something to do with it! Let's go, J!" The four of them transformed and joined in the fight. Red and Blue Buster fought against Enter while Yellow Buster and Gokai Pink kept Escape busy. The Riders and Imagin fought the Bugglars. Beet Buster and Stag Buster joined Red and Blue Buster in fighting Enter as Gokai Green and Silver helped out Gokai Pink and Yellow Buster. Enter spoke, "Non non non, four on one? This is hardly fair… For you." He continued to hold his own against the four of them.

Yellow Buster locked weapons with Escape. "Stay away from Hiromu", said Yellow Buster. Escape grinned and said, "Sorry, but no. His lips are too tempting to leave alone." Yellow Buster shouted, "SHUT UP!" as she forced Escape back and transported her Powered Custom. She upgraded her suit to the Powered form, allowing her to move around faster. Red and Blue Buster followed her lead and also upgraded, giving Red Buster speed and Blue Buster strength. After exchanging a few more attacks and knowing that they were now overpowered, Enter stepped back and said, "I think that's enough fun for now. Our part in this is done, anyway. You won't be seeing us anytime soon, however." Blue Buster spoke up, "That's good to hear." Enter replied, "Of course, that was a joke." Beet Buster snapped back, "Your comical delivery leaves something to be desired." Momotaros laughed and said, "THAT'S comedy!" Enter smirked and said, "Adieu, Go-Busters." As they digitized into thin air, Escape said, "Bye-bye, Hiromu-kun…" Ryuji powered down and said, "That was definitely unforeseen." Yoko powered down as well, "I'm glad to know that it was Escape and not Reiko." Red Buster dropped to his knees and gloomily said, "She kissed me… I don't know if life is my best option anymore…" He then completely dropped to the floor and powered down.

The Candroids arrived at Eiji's location as everyone made their way back to the meeting area. Goto, Nago, and Megumi had arrived a few minutes earlier, so they were just in time for the food. Everyone grabbed a box from the Candroid and sat down in the same general area. Some of the Candroids had beverage thermoses. As Eiji grabbed a box, he knelt down next to the empty-handed Candroids and said, "I have one more favor for you guys. Can you keep an eye or ear out for any suspicious activity with us?" The Candroids happily danced and jumped about as a way of saying yes. Eiji smiled and said, "Thanks, guys." There was idle chatter amongst the Riders. Eiji talked to the group, "It's pretty dark out tonight. The moon isn't out, so looking for things is a little tough." Nago replied, "Please do not worry, Eiji-kun. The sky is always darkest before the sunri…" Megumi immediately cut him off, "Really, Nago-kun? Now?" Nago replied, "It is imperative that I keep our spirits high, Megumi. I am their sempai." She replied back, "Well, I'll keep my energy high with YOUR food, sempai~", as she grabbed a carrot stick from his bento box and munched on it. Nago immediately retaliated and picked up a piece of her fish with his chopsticks. Everyone laughed at the antics of the Ixa couple as they ate. Otoya spoke out, "I love a dinner and movie!" One of the Tako Candroids returned to Eiji to report something it found. He stood up and said, "Tako-chan's found something." The group put their food down and followed the Candroid.

Haruto and the others had already engaged in battle with the kaijin near the abandoned factory. There were several monsters for them to handle. Nito sighed and said, "None of these guys are mana kaijin. Sorry, Chimera, but you're gonna have to starve some more." He then slid the Lion Ring on his finger and twisted it into Beast Driver. As Beast lunged at the small fry with Gills, Agito and G3 fought against Virgo. Black and Shadow Moon combatted against Pisces and Blade and Chalice took on Gemini while Garren and Leangle fought with Leo and Libra. Libra and Garren locked weapons with each other when Libra said, "You look familiar…" Garren kicked him back and fired shots at Libra, who deflected them all. Wizard fought on the roof of the factory alongside Ichigo and Nigo. Ichigo spoke, "I don't know where they came from, but we're not gonna let it persist!" Wizard nodded and slipped a new Ring onto his right hand. "You might wanna cover your eyes for this one, sempais." The two nodded and shielded their faces as Wizard waved the Ring across his Driver and it sounded off, "FLASH! PLEASE!" A bright light blinded the kaijin. While they waved their arms around to fend off attacks, Ichigo, Nigo, Wizard all prepared for a finisher. The three jumped up and simultaneously shouted, "RIDER GENERATION KICK!" They kicked the kaijin off of the roof. Before the kaijin could hit the ground, they exploded from the attack. Libra and Leo pushed off of Garren and Leangle as Libra spoke, "Even if we're outnumbered, we still did what we needed to do. Everyone, fall back!" Virgo pushed Agito and G3 away and raised her staff. Cosmic energy pulled the remaining kaijin out of battle. Haruto, Takeshi, and Hayato ran back into the factory to meet up with everyone else. Tachibana spoke, "They took off after a few of them were defeated." Kenzaki followed up, "One of them said something about their work being done here." Haruto nodded and said, "We're gonna have to spread out again and search for anything out of place." The team nodded and went in different directions.

Amazon fought with the Dopant on a wide rooftop. Accel had arrived just in time, "So he's the only one… This should be easy." Amazon nodded and bared his claws. The Dopant spoke up, "So you think so!" He then spoke into his Lie Speaks, "Everyone's conspiring against you." He directed his megaphone at Amazon, but Accel knew exactly what this guy was about. He cut down the needle heading towards Amazon with his Engine Blade. "That's an old and played-out trick, Liar! Watch his darts, Amazon. They can manipulate the way you think." Amazon nodded and ran at Liar with his arms pulled back for an attack. Just then, Liar disappeared into thin air. Amazon stopped his attack and looked around, as did Accel. Liar quietly reappeared behind a power box and whispered, "You're useless to your team." The needle hit Accel in the leg. Unfortunately for Liar, Accel's conviction was strong enough to make him immune to the lie. He took the dart out of his leg and threw it down. Liar stood up and said, "No way! It should've worked!" He backed up into another Rider who said, "If there's one thing you should know about that man, it's that he's like a rock. You can't tell a rock that it's water and expect the rock to turn into water." Before Liar could respond, Joker punched Liar away from him. He then pulled out Trigger Memory and put it into his Driver. As his form changed from Joker to Trigger, Accel said, "Philip must be caught up in something." Joker pointed his Trigger Magnum in another direction and said, "That, he is." He then fired at another rooftop, hitting his target, Zone. He looked back at Accel and said, "I'll let you handle things here. Daisuke-san, you're with me. Zone's a tricky one." Amazon nodded and went after Zone with Joker. Accel gripped the clutch on Accel Driver and said, "You're useless to your team. Despair awaits you at the finish line." He then revved the clutch, initiating a Maximum Drive. Liar attempted to block it with Lie Speaks, but the megaphone's defense capabilities faltered against Engine Blade's strength. Liar exploded, resulting in his defeat.

Tomoko, JK, Shunpei, and Rinko met up outside of Antique Shop Omokagedo. "Any hints?" asked Shunpei. Tomoko and Rinko shook their heads. JK scratched his head with one finger and said, "We're not doing a good job at being recon." As he turned around, he caught sight of a silver kaijin walking around the corner. He quickly motioned for everyone to be quiet and follow him. The four tiptoed to the corner and peered around the wall. The kaijin was with three others; a red one, a green one, and a purple one. JK whispered to his friends, "Aren't those guys Greeed?" Tomoko pulled JK's phone out of his pocket and said, "I'll call Miu." Just then, human form Kazari spoke, "Don't bother. They're looking for us." The four jumped back upon seeing the other two Greeed members. Mezool spoke out, "Hello, boys." Gamel quickly turned around and began to jump about, "Mezool! Mezool!" Kazari sighed and said, "Why did you guys look for us? You were supposed to stay at the base." Mezool shoved him and said, "It's fine, Kazari." Rinko pulled out her revolver and aimed it at the Greeed. JK jokingly followed up by forming a gun with his and aiming it at the Greeed as well. Uva looked at Rinko and scoffed. Kazari quickly dissolved the tension, "Yes, because a weak weapon like that will have some kind of effect on us. It's not like we've never been shot at before." Shunpei lowered her hands and shook his head. Mezool smirked and said, "Humans…" Uva looked towards the Greeed couple and said, "Kazu sent us to find you. Great Leader will allow you guys to live, apparently, so there's no problem." Kazari spoke up, "Actually, there IS a problem. You were tricked." Mezool followed, "Kazari was left for dead. He almost killed me as well." Lost Ankh spoke, "I knew it was too easy." Kazari slid his hands into his pocket and said, "You guys should… No, you guys HAVE to go back to base and tell them you couldn't find us." He then turned to the recon team and said, "And we need your help."

Miu had just ended a call with Haruto about their findings. She fell back against the couch and sighed, "That's the third report of an enemy sighting." Yuki looked up from a laptop she was using and said, "At least we have enough forces to handle it." Miu sighed and said, "Yeah, but I'm not concerned with the kaijin, we can handle that. I haven't heard from Kengo in almost a week now." Hina walked into the room with a tray of beverages. "What's going on?" she asked as she sat the tray on the table. Yuki replied, "We've only gotten word back about kaijin sightings, but no Kengo-kun." Hina smiled and sat next to Miu, "I know how you feel. I wouldn't know what I'd do if Eiji-kun suddenly disappeared." Akiko closed the magazine she was reading and looked at Hina, "Was that a confession?!" Hina quickly shook her head, "It's not like that between us!" The other girls began to tease her until she finally said, "Okay, fine, I do like him!" They all calmed down as Hina continued, "He's sweet and heartfelt. He always puts everyone else's needs before his own. He's also strong and reliable." Miu smiled and said, "That's how Kengo gets when we're alone. I love that man." Akiko spoke up, "I love my Ryu as well. He's strong, smart, handsome… My GOODNESS, is he handsome!" The other girls giggled at her gesture before she continued, "Despite his tough exterior, he's a sweetheart. He likes to call me 'Chief.'" Yuki sighed and said, "Now I want a boyfriend." Miu joked, "You can have Shun." Yuki jumped up, "REALLY?!" Miu immediately looked at her and said, "Oops! You really want Shun?" Yuki calmly sat back down and said, "It's a joke." The girls laughed once again, and Yuki said, "Though he IS a nice guy." Miu nodded and said, "I can agree with you there, but he tends to be a little TOO persistent. Where is he, anyway?" Yuki replied, "He's testing a new feature we put on Powerdizer. I won't tell you what it is, though. It's a secret." While the girls were having fun talking about their friends, Miu's phone rang again. It was Eiji. "Miu, a Candroid directed us to a gigantic pirate ship." Miu reaffirmed his statement, "A pirate ship? Okay, wait for more people to show up. I'll inform them." She ended the call and immediately called Gentaro.

Gentaro couldn't answer his phone because he was on the moon's surface with the other Riders looking for clues as to why Sagittarius was out there. Tackle stayed back because her suit didn't allow breathing in space. She, in Gentaro's place, answered the phone and told Miu that he was on the moon's surface. Fourze got a call through Radar a short while later. He activated the Switch and answered the call, "What's up?" Miu spoke, "Eiji may have found Kengo!" Fourze shouted, "HOT DAMN! Wait, we need to find out why Sagittarius was here." Miu asked, "Sagittarius was there?" Fourze nodded and said, "We're all searching the moon right now, but let everyone else know. Ryuusei, Nadeshiko Kuuga-kun, Diend, and I can return." Miu nodded and said, "Alright, I'll call the others." Everyone stayed on the moon to continue looking while the space Riders headed back to Earth. Haruto received the word from Miu about the ship and turned to his team, "Eiji may have found Kengo. Nito and I will go, everyone else continue to look for anything suspicious. We need to find out what that guy meant by 'work being done.'" The two mage Riders took off to Eiji's location. Shotaro received the call from Miu as well. He relayed the message to Daisuke and followed up, "Make sure Ryuki-tachi know about this. You guys stay back and keep an eye on the city. There's no telling what Dai-Shocker's plans are. Let's go, Ryu." The detective Riders headed towards the wooded area. Meanwhile, Tsukasa was repeating the call back to everyone else. "Natsumikan and I will go to site. Everyone else is to remain here and search the mountains. Miu-chan said that kaijin have been acting suspicious lately." Hibiki gave him a thumbs up, while everyone else nodded. Tsukasa nodded to Natsumi and the two headed towards the woods. Hiromu told everyone what Miu told him, "They've found the pirate ship near Eiji's location. Ahim, Doc, Gai, you three go. We'll stay here and look out for any more trouble." The three nodded and ran out of the shopping center. Gai thought to himself, "Marvelous-san, Luka-san, please be okay…" Doc thought to himself as well, "Joe-san, I'm sorry. We're friends, we shouldn't be fighting." Ahim thought to herself, "Marvelous-san. I know you're full of good intentions. I believe in you. WE believe in you."

The sun began to rise at this point. Marvelous, Luka, and Joe stood on the deck with Kengo. Busa Driver was wrapped around his waist. He flipped the four levers down and waited for the countdown. "3… 2… 1." He gripped the handle, "Henshin", and pulled it back. He had transformed into Hayabusa. The three pirates flipped their Mobirates open and each held their pirate Keys. "We'll only attack if you attack first. Keep that in mind whenever you berserk out. Remember that it didn't choose to control you. You need to control IT. If you don't wanna die, you'd better harness that power and use it as your own." Hayabusa quietly nodded. Luka spoke up, "Good luck, Kengo-kun." Hayabusa began to focus on the negative energy that was within him. A faint dark aura began to become more apparent as he focused more on the negative energy. The aura soon began to turn into black flames. Hayabusa's suit color drastically dimmed as if the flames were charring it. His armor began to change from a cobalt blue to a dark wine color. The force began to overwhelm him. It was evident because his arms began to tremble. His breathing became heavier and coarser. The pirates slid their Keys into their Mobirates and drew their weapons. Hayabusa's entire body was now shaking. He couldn't stop himself from doing so. Gokai Red shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?!" Gokai Blue followed up, "DISCARD YOUR FEAR, KENGO!" Hayabusa dropped to a knee as the black flames completely consumed him.

Gentaro and the other Riders arrived at the base of the ship. Shotaro spoke up, "There's an ominous wind blowing from the deck. Gentaro wasted no time transforming and vaulting himself to the deck. Everyone else naturally followed behind him. Fourze looked at the dark flames, noticing that they looked familiar. He immediately shouted, "KENGO!" The red, blue, and yellow pirates turned to the group. "What is this? What's going on?" asked Gokai Silver. Gokai Blue turned back to Hayabusa and held his sword up in a defensive state, "We're about to find out." He then tossed his gun to Gokai Green, who instinctively tossed his sabre to Gokai Blue. Gokai Pink and Gokai Yellow exchanged sabre and gun as well. Gokai Yellow turned back to Hayabusa and yelled, "WHAT DO YOU WANT, KENGO?!" Thoughts raced through Hayabusa's head as carnal intentions began to become apparent. Something told Miu to call Gentaro. Fourze activated Radar and answered the call. "Miu! We found him, but…" She immediately cut him off, "Gentaro, use Beat!" He took immediate action by using Radar and Beat. Radar was used to call Miu and Beat was used to amplify her voice. Through all of the chaos going through his head, he heard her voice loud and clear, "KENGO, FIGHT!" He envisioned her smiling face shouting, "YOU CAN DO IT, KENGO! WE BOTH POURED OUR SOULS INTO IT FOR YOU, NOW CONQUER IT!" The flames subsided from their violent form to gentle flames. Hayabusa slowly stood up and whisked the flames away. Kiva spoke up, "That's what I do." Hayabusa stood up and looked towards the group. He then shifted his vision to the three Gokaiger. Gokai Blue dropped his guard, "Damn…" Gokai Yellow also dropped her guard, "It didn't work? No…" Miu's voice echoed across the deck, "KENGOOOOOOO!" Hayabusa stumbled backwards and said, "DAMMIT, Miu, I was trying to make a dynamic entry!" Ryuusei joked, "Yeah, she kind of ruined that for you, buddy." Gokai Red spoke, "How do you feel?" Hayabusa looked at his hands and said, "Great, now, thanks to Miu." Luka powered down and said, "Huh. So in the end, your heart wanted HER. Well either way, you also have power. Have your cake…" Kengo powered down, "AND eat it." He now held the Shade Switch that had been absorbed by him in his hand. Marvelous powered down and said, "This is heartfelt and all, but I'm hungry. And Luka can't cook." Luka hit him in the shoulder and replied, "I still cook better than you!" Ahim giggled as she powered down and said, "I'll see what I can do."


End file.
